Modular antenna for integration with an internet of things (iot) hub and associated systems and methods

ABSTRACT

An embedded Internet of Things (IoT) hub for integration with modular antennae and associated systems and methods. For example, one embodiment of an apparatus includes: an embedded IoT hub comprising a wide area network (WAN) interface to couple the embedded IoT hub to an IoT service over a network and a local wireless communication interface to communicatively couple the IoT hub to one or more IoT devices; an IoT hub slot interface coupled to the embedded IoT hub and comprising a first plurality of pins or pads to interface with corresponding pins or pads within an IoT hub slot of an appliance when the embedded IoT hub is inserted into the IoT hub slot; and a modular antenna interface coupled to the embedded IoT hub and comprising a second plurality of pins or pads to interface with corresponding pins or pads on the interface component of the modular antenna.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to the field of computer systems. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a modular antenna for integrationwith an Internet of Things (IoT) hub and associated systems and methods.

Description of the Related Art

The “Internet of Things” refers to the interconnection ofuniquely-identifiable embedded devices within the Internetinfrastructure. Ultimately, IoT is expected to result in new,wide-ranging types of applications in which virtually any type ofphysical thing may provide information about itself or its surroundingsand/or may be controlled remotely via client devices over the Internet.

Adoption of IoT functionality in home appliances such as “white goods”has been limited for a variety of reasons. For example, appliancemanufacturers do not have in-depth wireless expertise to allow them toseamlessly integrate IoT connectivity. The antenna integration alonewithin the appliance requires an involved engineering effort perproduct. Moreover, certification costs are high especially when cellularis involved. if the appliance has cellular as part of its internalcircuit board, a certification is required per appliance. In addition,antenna size and requirements change based on the wireless system theantenna supports.

IoT ecosystems are evolving which means there is a need for a flexibleIoT implementation for appliances that can be upgraded when neededwithout changing the underlying appliance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained from thefollowing detailed description in conjunction with the followingdrawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A-B illustrates different embodiments of an IoT systemarchitecture;

FIG. 2 illustrates an IoT device in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates an IoT hub in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4A-B illustrate embodiments of the invention for controlling andcollecting data from IoT devices, and generating notifications;

FIG. 5 illustrates embodiments of the invention for collecting data fromIoT devices and generating notifications from an IoT hub and/or IoTservice;

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a system in which an intermediarymobile device collects data from a stationary IoT device and providesthe data to an IoT hub;

FIG. 7 illustrates intermediary connection logic implemented in oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a method in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 9A illustrates an embodiment in which program code and data updatesare provided to the IoT device;

FIG. 9B illustrates an embodiment of a method in which program code anddata updates are provided to the IoT device;

FIG. 10 illustrates a high level view of one embodiment of a securityarchitecture;

FIG. 11 illustrates one embodiment of an architecture in which asubscriber identity module (SIM) is used to store keys on IoT devices;

FIG. 12A illustrates one embodiment in which IoT devices are registeredusing barcodes or QR codes;

FIG. 12B illustrates one embodiment in which pairing is performed usingbarcodes or QR codes;

FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a method for programming a SIMusing an IoT hub;

FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a method for registering an IoTdevice with an IoT hub and IoT service; and

FIG. 15 illustrates one embodiment of a method for encrypting data to betransmitted to an IoT device;

FIGS. 16A-B illustrate different embodiments of the invention forencrypting data between an IoT service and an IoT device;

FIG. 17 illustrates embodiments of the invention for performing a securekey exchange, generating a common secret, and using the secret togenerate a key stream;

FIG. 18 illustrates a packet structure in accordance with one embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 19 illustrates techniques employed in one embodiment for writingand reading data to/from an IoT device without formally pairing with theIoT device;

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary set of command packets employed in oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary sequence of transactions using commandpackets;

FIG. 22 illustrates a method in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention; and

FIGS. 23A-C illustrate a method for secure pairing in accordance withone embodiment of the invention

FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary embedded hub and modular antenna systemin accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 25 illustrates an embedded hub in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 26 illustrates an exemplary embedded hub within an exemplaryappliance;

FIG. 27 illustrates an exemplary embedded hub device comprising aplurality of connection pads, an electrical board comprising one or moreradio devices, and latches;

FIG. 28 illustrates an exemplary embedded hub communicating with anappliance using Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE);

FIGS. 29A-B illustrate exemplary system architectures in whichembodiments of the invention may be employed;

FIGS. 30-32 illustrate exemplary modular antennas configured to becoupled to embedded hubs; and

FIG. 33 illustrates an exemplary embedded hub integrated within anexemplary appliance and with a modular antenna attached thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments of the invention described below. Itwill be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that theembodiments of the invention may be practiced without some of thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devicesare shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the underlyingprinciples of the embodiments of the invention.

One embodiment of the invention comprises an Internet of Things (IoT)platform which may be utilized by developers to design and build new IoTdevices and applications. In particular, one embodiment includes a basehardware/software platform for IoT devices including a predefinednetworking protocol stack and an IoT hub through which the IoT devicesare coupled to the Internet. In addition, one embodiment includes an IoTservice through which the IoT hubs and connected IoT devices may beaccessed and managed as described below. In addition, one embodiment ofthe IoT platform includes an IoT app or Web application (e.g., executedon a client device) to access and configured the IoT service, hub andconnected devices. Existing online retailers and other Website operatorsmay leverage the IoT platform described herein to readily provide uniqueIoT functionality to existing user bases.

FIG. 1A illustrates an overview of an architectural platform on whichembodiments of the invention may be implemented. In particular, theillustrated embodiment includes a plurality of IoT devices 101-105communicatively coupled over local communication channels 130 to acentral IoT hub 110 which is itself communicatively coupled to an IoTservice 120 over the Internet 220. Each of the IoT devices 101-105 mayinitially be paired to the IoT hub 110 (e.g., using the pairingtechniques described below) in order to enable each of the localcommunication channels 130. In one embodiment, the IoT service 120includes an end user database 122 for maintaining user accountinformation and data collected from each user's IoT devices. Forexample, if the IoT devices include sensors (e.g., temperature sensors,accelerometers, heat sensors, motion detectore, etc), the database 122may be continually updated to store the data collected by the IoTdevices 101-105. The data stored in the database 122 may then be madeaccessible to the end user via the IoT app or browser installed on theuser's device 135 (or via a desktop or other client computer system) andto web clients (e.g., such as websites 130 subscribing to the IoTservice 120).

The IoT devices 101-105 may be equipped with various types of sensors tocollect information about themselves and their surroundings and providethe collected information to the IoT service 120, user devices 135and/or external Websites 130 via the IoT hub 110. Some of the IoTdevices 101-105 may perform a specified function in response to controlcommands sent through the IoT hub 110. Various specific examples ofinformation collected by the IoT devices 101-105 and control commandsare provided below. In one embodiment described below, the IoT device101 is a user input device designed to record user selections and sendthe user selections to the IoT service 120 and/or Website.

In one embodiment, the IoT hub 110 includes a cellular radio toestablish a connection to the Internet 220 via a cellular service 115such as a 4G (e.g., Mobile WiMAX, LTE) or 5G cellular data service.Alternatively, or in addition, the IoT hub 110 may include a WiFi radioto establish a WiFi connection through a WiFi access point or router 116which couples the IoT hub 110 to the Internet (e.g., via an InternetService Provider providing Internet service to the end user). Of course,it should be noted that the underlying principles of the invention arenot limited to any particular type of communication channel or protocol.

In one embodiment, the IoT devices 101-105 are ultra low-power devicescapable of operating for extended periods of time on battery power(e.g., years). To conserve power, the local communication channels 130may be implemented using a low-power wireless communication technologysuch as Bluetooth Low Energy (LE). In this embodiment, each of the IoTdevices 101-105 and the IoT hub 110 are equipped with Bluetooth LEradios and protocol stacks.

As mentioned, in one embodiment, the IoT platform includes an IoT app orWeb application executed on user devices 135 to allow users to accessand configure the connected IoT devices 101-105, IoT hub 110, and/or IoTservice 120. In one embodiment, the app or web application may bedesigned by the operator of a Website 130 to provide IoT functionalityto its user base. As illustrated, the Website may maintain a userdatabase 131 containing account records related to each user.

FIG. 1B illustrates additional connection options for a plurality of IoThubs 110-111, 190 In this embodiment a single user may have multiplehubs 110-111 installed onsite at a single user premises 180 (e.g., theuser's home or business). This may be done, for example, to extend thewireless range needed to connect all of the IoT devices 101-105. Asindicated, if a user has multiple hubs 110, 111 they may be connectedvia a local communication channel (e.g., Wifi, Ethernet, Power LineNetworking, etc). In one embodiment, each of the hubs 110-111 mayestablish a direct connection to the IoT service 120 through a cellular115 or WiFi 116 connection (not explicitly shown in FIG. 1B).Alternatively, or in addition, one of the IoT hubs such as IoT hub 110may act as a “master” hub which provides connectivity and/or localservices to all of the other IoT hubs on the user premises 180, such asIoT hub 111 (as indicated by the dotted line connecting IoT hub 110 andIoT hub 111). For example, the master IoT hub 110 may be the only IoThub to establish a direct connection to the IoT service 120. In oneembodiment, only the “master” IoT hub 110 is equipped with a cellularcommunication interface to establish the connection to the IoT service120. As such, all communication between the IoT service 120 and theother IoT hubs 111 will flow through the master IoT hub 110. In thisrole, the master IoT hub 110 may be provided with additional programcode to perform filtering operations on the data exchanged between theother IoT hubs 111 and IoT service 120 (e.g., servicing some datarequests locally when possible).

Regardless of how the IoT hubs 110-111 are connected, in one embodiment,the IoT service 120 will logically associate the hubs with the user andcombine all of the attached IoT devices 101-105 under a singlecomprehensive user interface, accessible via a user device with theinstalled app 135 (and/or a browser-based interface).

In this embodiment, the master IoT hub 110 and one or more slave IoThubs 111 may connect over a local network which may be a WiFi network116, an Ethernet network, and/or a using power-line communications (PLC)networking (e.g., where all or portions of the network are run throughthe user's power lines). In addition, to the IoT hubs 110-111, each ofthe IoT devices 101-105 may be interconnected with the IoT hubs 110-111using any type of local network channel such as WiFi, Ethernet, PLC, orBluetooth LE, to name a few.

FIG. 1B also shows an IoT hub 190 installed at a second user premises181. A virtually unlimited number of such IoT hubs 190 may be installedand configured to collect data from IoT devices 191-192 at user premisesaround the world. In one embodiment, the two user premises 180-181 maybe configured for the same user. For example, one user premises 180 maybe the user's primary home and the other user premises 181 may be theuser's vacation home. In such a case, the IoT service 120 will logicallyassociate the IoT hubs 110-111, 190 with the user and combine all of theattached IoT devices 101-105, 191-192 under a single comprehensive userinterface, accessible via a user device with the installed app 135(and/or a browser-based interface).

As illustrated in FIG. 2, an exemplary embodiment of an IoT device 101includes a memory 210 for storing program code and data 201-203 and alow power microcontroller 200 for executing the program code andprocessing the data. The memory 210 may be a volatile memory such asdynamic random access memory (DRAM) or may be a non-volatile memory suchas Flash memory. In one embodiment, a non-volatile memory may be usedfor persistent storage and a volatile memory may be used for executionof the program code and data at runtime. Moreover, the memory 210 may beintegrated within the low power microcontroller 200 or may be coupled tothe low power microcontroller 200 via a bus or communication fabric. Theunderlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particularimplementation of the memory 210.

As illustrated, the program code may include application program code203 defining an application-specific set of functions to be performed bythe IoT device 201 and library code 202 comprising a set of predefinedbuilding blocks which may be utilized by the application developer ofthe IoT device 101. In one embodiment, the library code 202 comprises aset of basic functions required to implement an IoT device such as acommunication protocol stack 201 for enabling communication between eachIoT device 101 and the IoT hub 110. As mentioned, in one embodiment, thecommunication protocol stack 201 comprises a Bluetooth LE protocolstack. In this embodiment, Bluetooth LE radio and antenna 207 may beintegrated within the low power microcontroller 200. However, theunderlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particularcommunication protocol.

The particular embodiment shown in FIG. 2 also includes a plurality ofinput devices or sensors 210 to receive user input and provide the userinput to the low power microcontroller, which processes the user inputin accordance with the application code 203 and library code 202. In oneembodiment, each of the input devices include an LED 209 to providefeedback to the end user.

In addition, the illustrated embodiment includes a battery 208 forsupplying power to the low power microcontroller. In one embodiment, anon-chargeable coin cell battery is used. However, in an alternateembodiment, an integrated rechargeable battery may be used (e.g.,rechargeable by connecting the IoT device to an AC power supply (notshown)).

A speaker 205 is also provided for generating audio. In one embodiment,the low power microcontroller 299 includes audio decoding logic fordecoding a compressed audio stream (e.g., such as an MPEG-4/AdvancedAudio Coding (AAC) stream) to generate audio on the speaker 205.Alternatively, the low power microcontroller 200 and/or the applicationcode/data 203 may include digitally sampled snippets of audio to provideverbal feedback to the end user as the user enters selections via theinput devices 210.

In one embodiment, one or more other/alternate I/O devices or sensors250 may be included on the IoT device 101 based on the particularapplication for which the IoT device 101 is designed. For example, anenvironmental sensor may be included to measure temperature, pressure,humidity, etc. A security sensor and/or door lock opener may be includedif the IoT device is used as a security device. Of course, theseexamples are provided merely for the purposes of illustration. Theunderlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particulartype of IoT device. In fact, given the highly programmable nature of thelow power microcontroller 200 equipped with the library code 202, anapplication developer may readily develop new application code 203 andnew I/O devices 250 to interface with the low power microcontroller forvirtually any type of IoT application.

In one embodiment, the low power microcontroller 200 also includes asecure key store for storing encryption keys for encryptingcommunications and/or generating signatures. Alternatively, the keys maybe secured in a subscriber identify module (SIM).

A wakeup receiver 207 is included in one embodiment to wake the IoTdevice from an ultra low power state in which it is consuming virtuallyno power. In one embodiment, the wakeup receiver 207 is configured tocause the IoT device 101 to exit this low power state in response to awakeup signal received from a wakeup transmitter 307 configured on theIoT hub 110 as shown in FIG. 3. In particular, in one embodiment, thetransmitter 307 and receiver 207 together form an electrical resonanttransformer circuit such as a Tesla coil. In operation, energy istransmitted via radio frequency signals from the transmitter 307 to thereceiver 207 when the hub 110 needs to wake the IoT device 101 from avery low power state. Because of the energy transfer, the IoT device 101may be configured to consume virtually no power when it is in its lowpower state because it does not need to continually “listen” for asignal from the hub (as is the case with network protocols which allowdevices to be awakened via a network signal). Rather, themicrocontroller 200 of the IoT device 101 may be configured to wake upafter being effectively powered down by using the energy electricallytransmitted from the transmitter 307 to the receiver 207.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the IoT hub 110 also includes a memory 317 forstoring program code and data 305 and hardware logic 301 such as amicrocontroller for executing the program code and processing the data.A wide area network (WAN) interface 302 and antenna 310 couple the IoThub 110 to the cellular service 115. Alternatively, as mentioned above,the IoT hub 110 may also include a local network interface (not shown)such as a WiFi interface (and WiFi antenna) or Ethernet interface forestablishing a local area network communication channel. In oneembodiment, the hardware logic 301 also includes a secure key store forstoring encryption keys for encrypting communications andgenerating/verifying signatures. Alternatively, the keys may be securedin a subscriber identify module (SIM).

A local communication interface 303 and antenna 311 establishes localcommunication channels with each of the IoT devices 101-105. Asmentioned above, in one embodiment, the local communication interface303/antenna 311 implements the Bluetooth LE standard. However, theunderlying principles of the invention are not limited to any particularprotocols for establishing the local communication channels with the IoTdevices 101-105. Although illustrated as separate units in FIG. 3, theWAN interface 302 and/or local communication interface 303 may beembedded within the same chip as the hardware logic 301.

In one embodiment, the program code and data includes a communicationprotocol stack 308 which may include separate stacks for communicatingover the local communication interface 303 and the WAN interface 302. Inaddition, device pairing program code and data 306 may be stored in thememory to allow the IoT hub to pair with new IoT devices. In oneembodiment, each new IoT device 101-105 is assigned a unique code whichis communicated to the IoT hub 110 during the pairing process. Forexample, the unique code may be embedded in a barcode on the IoT deviceand may be read by the barcode reader 106 or may be communicated overthe local communication channel 130. In an alternate embodiment, theunique ID code is embedded magnetically on the IoT device and the IoThub has a magnetic sensor such as an radio frequency ID (RFID) or nearfield communication (NFC) sensor to detect the code when the IoT device101 is moved within a few inches of the IoT hub 110.

In one embodiment, once the unique ID has been communicated, the IoT hub110 may verify the unique ID by querying a local database (not shown),performing a hash to verify that the code is acceptable, and/orcommunicating with the IoT service 120, user device 135 and/or Website130 to validate the ID code. Once validated, in one embodiment, the IoThub 110 pairs the IoT device 101 and stores the pairing data in memory317 (which, as mentioned, may include non-volatile memory). Once pairingis complete, the IoT hub 110 may connect with the IoT device 101 toperform the various IoT functions described herein.

In one embodiment, the organization running the IoT service 120 mayprovide the IoT hub 110 and a basic hardware/software platform to allowdevelopers to easily design new IoT services. In particular, in additionto the IoT hub 110, developers may be provided with a softwaredevelopment kit (SDK) to update the program code and data 305 executedwithin the hub 110. In addition, for IoT devices 101, the SDK mayinclude an extensive set of library code 202 designed for the base IoThardware (e.g., the low power microcontroller 200 and other componentsshown in FIG. 2) to facilitate the design of various different types ofapplications 101. In one embodiment, the SDK includes a graphical designinterface in which the developer needs only to specify input and outputsfor the IoT device. All of the networking code, including thecommunication stack 201 that allows the IoT device 101 to connect to thehub 110 and the service 120, is already in place for the developer. Inaddition, in one embodiment, the SDK also includes a library code baseto facilitate the design of apps for mobile devices (e.g., iPhone andAndroid devices).

In one embodiment, the IoT hub 110 manages a continuous bi-directionalstream of data between the IoT devices 101-105 and the IoT service 120.In circumstances where updates to/from the IoT devices 101-105 arerequired in real time (e.g., where a user needs to view the currentstatus of security devices or environmental readings), the IoT hub maymaintain an open TCP socket to provide regular updates to the userdevice 135 and/or external Websites 130. The specific networkingprotocol used to provide updates may be tweaked based on the needs ofthe underlying application. For example, in some cases, where may notmake sense to have a continuous bi-directional stream, a simplerequest/response protocol may be used to gather information when needed.

In one embodiment, both the IoT hub 110 and the IoT devices 101-105 areautomatically upgradeable over the network. In particular, when a newupdate is available for the IoT hub 110 it may automatically downloadand install the update from the IoT service 120. It may first copy theupdated code into a local memory, run and verify the update beforeswapping out the older program code. Similarly, when updates areavailable for each of the IoT devices 101-105, they may initially bedownloaded by the IoT hub 110 and pushed out to each of the IoT devices101-105. Each IoT device 101-105 may then apply the update in a similarmanner as described above for the IoT hub and report back the results ofthe update to the IoT hub 110. If the update is successful, then the IoThub 110 may delete the update from its memory and record the latestversion of code installed on each IoT device (e.g., so that it maycontinue to check for new updates for each IoT device).

In one embodiment, the IoT hub 110 is powered via A/C power. Inparticular, the IoT hub 110 may include a power unit 390 with atransformer for transforming A/C voltage supplied via an A/C power cordto a lower DC voltage.

FIG. 4A illustrates one embodiment of the invention for performinguniversal remote control operations using the IoT system. In particular,in this embodiment, a set of IoT devices 101-103 are equipped withinfrared (IR) and/or radio frequency (RF) blasters 401-403,respectively, for transmitting remote control codes to control variousdifferent types of electronics equipment including airconditioners/heaters 430, lighting systems 431, and audiovisualequipment 432 (to name just a few). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4A,the IoT devices 101-103 are also equipped with sensors 404-406,respectively, for detecting the operation of the devices which theycontrol, as described below.

For example, sensor 404 in IoT device 101 may be a temperature and/orhumidity sensor for sensing the current temperature/humidity andresponsively controlling the air conditioner/heater 430 based on acurrent desired temperature. In this embodiment, the airconditioner/heater 430 is one which is designed to be controlled via aremote control device (typically a remote control which itself has atemperature sensor embedded therein). In one embodiment, the userprovides the desired temperature to the IoT hub 110 via an app orbrowser installed on a user device 135. Control logic 412 executed onthe IoT hub 110 receives the current temperature/humidity data from thesensor 404 and responsively transmits commands to the IoT device 101 tocontrol the IR/RF blaster 401 in accordance with the desiredtemperature/humidity. For example, if the temperature is below thedesired temperature, then the control logic 412 may transmit a commandto the air conditioner/heater via the IR/RF blaster 401 to increase thetemperature (e.g., either by turning off the air conditioner or turningon the heater). The command may include the necessary remote controlcode stored in a database 413 on the IoT hub 110. Alternatively, or inaddition, the IoT service 421 may implement control logic 421 to controlthe electronics equipment 430-432 based on specified user preferencesand stored control codes 422.

IoT device 102 in the illustrated example is used to control lighting431. In particular, sensor 405 in IoT device 102 may photosensor orphotodetector configured to detect the current brightness of the lightbeing produced by a light fixture 431 (or other lighting apparatus). Theuser may specify a desired lighting level (including an indication of ONor OFF) to the IoT hub 110 via the user device 135. In response, thecontrol logic 412 will transmit commands to the IR/RF blaster 402 tocontrol the current brightness level of the lights 431 (e.g., increasingthe lighting if the current brightness is too low or decreasing thelighting if the current brightness is too high; or simply turning thelights ON or OFF).

IoT device 103 in the illustrated example is configured to controlaudiovisual equipment 432 (e.g., a television, AN receiver,cable/satellite receiver, AppleTV™, etc). Sensor 406 in IoT device 103may be an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone and associated logic) fordetecting a current ambient volume level and/or a photosensor to detectwhether a television is on or off based on the light generated by thetelevision (e.g., by measuring the light within a specified spectrum).Alternatively, sensor 406 may include a temperature sensor connected tothe audiovisual equipment to detect whether the audio equipment is on oroff based on the detected temperature. Once again, in response to userinput via the user device 135, the control logic 412 may transmitcommands to the audiovisual equipment via the IR blaster 403 of the IoTdevice 103.

It should be noted that the foregoing are merely illustrative examplesof one embodiment of the invention. The underlying principles of theinvention are not limited to any particular type of sensors or equipmentto be controlled by IoT devices.

In an embodiment in which the IoT devices 101-103 are coupled to the IoThub 110 via a Bluetooth LE connection, the sensor data and commands aresent over the Bluetooth LE channel. However, the underlying principlesof the invention are not limited to Bluetooth LE or any othercommunication standard.

In one embodiment, the control codes required to control each of thepieces of electronics equipment are stored in a database 413 on the IoThub 110 and/or a database 422 on the IoT service 120. As illustrated inFIG. 4B, the control codes may be provided to the IoT hub 110 from amaster database of control codes 422 for different pieces of equipmentmaintained on the IoT service 120. The end user may specify the types ofelectronic (or other) equipment to be controlled via the app or browserexecuted on the user device 135 and, in response, a remote control codelearning module 491 on the IoT hub may retrieve the required IR/RF codesfrom the remote control code database 492 on the IoT service 120 (e.g.,identifying each piece of electronic equipment with a unique ID).

In addition, in one embodiment, the IoT hub 110 is equipped with anIR/RF interface 490 to allow the remote control code learning module 491to “learn” new remote control codes directly from the original remotecontrol 495 provided with the electronic equipment. For example, ifcontrol codes for the original remote control provided with the airconditioner 430 is not included in the remote control database, the usermay interact with the IoT hub 110 via the app/browser on the user device135 to teach the IoT hub 110 the various control codes generated by theoriginal remote control (e.g., increase temperature, decreasetemperature, etc). Once the remote control codes are learned they may bestored in the control code database 413 on the IoT hub 110 and/or sentback to the IoT service 120 to be included in the central remote controlcode database 492 (and subsequently used by other users with the sameair conditioner unit 430).

In one embodiment, each of the IoT devices 101-103 have an extremelysmall form factor and may be affixed on or near their respectiveelectronics equipment 430-432 using double-sided tape, a small nail, amagnetic attachment, etc. For control of a piece of equipment such asthe air conditioner 430, it would be desirable to place the IoT device101 sufficiently far away so that the sensor 404 can accurately measurethe ambient temperature in the home (e.g., placing the IoT devicedirectly on the air conditioner would result in a temperaturemeasurement which would be too low when the air conditioner was runningor too high when the heater was running). In contrast, the IoT device102 used for controlling lighting may be placed on or near the lightingfixture 431 for the sensor 405 to detect the current lighting level.

In addition to providing general control functions as described, oneembodiment of the IoT hub 110 and/or IoT service 120 transmitsnotifications to the end user related to the current status of eachpiece of electronics equipment. The notifications, which may be textmessages and/or app-specific notifications, may then be displayed on thedisplay of the user's mobile device 135. For example, if the user's airconditioner has been on for an extended period of time but thetemperature has not changed, the IoT hub 110 and/or IoT service 120 maysend the user a notification that the air conditioner is not functioningproperly. If the user is not home (which may be detected via motionsensors or based on the user's current detected location), and thesensors 406 indicate that audiovisual equipment 430 is on or sensors 405indicate that the lights are on, then a notification may be sent to theuser, asking if the user would like to turn off the audiovisualequipment 432 and/or lights 431. The same type of notification may besent for any equipment type.

Once the user receives a notification, he/she may remotely control theelectronics equipment 430-432 via the app or browser on the user device135. In one embodiment, the user device 135 is a touchscreen device andthe app or browser displays an image of a remote control withuser-selectable buttons for controlling the equipment 430-432. Uponreceiving a notification, the user may open the graphical remote controland turn off or adjust the various different pieces of equipment. Ifconnected via the IoT service 120, the user's selections may beforwarded from the IoT service 120 to the IoT hub 110 which will thencontrol the equipment via the control logic 412. Alternatively, the userinput may be sent directly to the IoT hub 110 from the user device 135.

In one embodiment, the user may program the control logic 412 on the IoThub 110 to perform various automatic control functions with respect tothe electronics equipment 430-432. In addition to maintaining a desiredtemperature, brightness level, and volume level as described above, thecontrol logic 412 may automatically turn off the electronics equipmentif certain conditions are detected. For example, if the control logic412 detects that the user is not home and that the air conditioner isnot functioning, it may automatically turn off the air conditioner.Similarly, if the user is not home, and the sensors 406 indicate thataudiovisual equipment 430 is on or sensors 405 indicate that the lightsare on, then the control logic 412 may automatically transmit commandsvia the IR/RF blasters 403 and 402, to turn off the audiovisualequipment and lights, respectively.

FIG. 5 illustrates additional embodiments of IoT devices 104-105equipped with sensors 503-504 for monitoring electronic equipment530-531. In particular, the IoT device 104 of this embodiment includes atemperature sensor 503 which may be placed on or near a stove 530 todetect when the stove has been left on. In one embodiment, the IoTdevice 104 transmits the current temperature measured by the temperaturesensor 503 to the IoT hub 110 and/or the IoT service 120. If the stoveis detected to be on for more than a threshold time period (e.g., basedon the measured temperature), then control logic 512 may transmit anotification to the end user's device 135 informing the user that thestove 530 is on. In addition, in one embodiment, the IoT device 104 mayinclude a control module 501 to turn off the stove, either in responseto receiving an instruction from the user or automatically (if thecontrol logic 512 is programmed to do so by the user). In oneembodiment, the control logic 501 comprises a switch to cut offelectricity or gas to the stove 530. However, in other embodiments, thecontrol logic 501 may be integrated within the stove itself.

FIG. 5 also illustrates an IoT device 105 with a motion sensor 504 fordetecting the motion of certain types of electronics equipment such as awasher and/or dryer. Another sensor that may be used is an audio sensor(e.g., microphone and logic) for detecting an ambient volume level. Aswith the other embodiments described above, this embodiment may transmitnotifications to the end user if certain specified conditions are met(e.g., if motion is detected for an extended period of time, indicatingthat the washer/dryer are not turning off). Although not shown in FIG.5, IoT device 105 may also be equipped with a control module to turn offthe washer/dryer 531 (e.g., by switching off electric/gas),automatically, and/or in response to user input.

In one embodiment, a first IoT device with control logic and a switchmay be configured to turn off all power in the user's home and a secondIoT device with control logic and a switch may be configured to turn offall gas in the user's home. IoT devices with sensors may then bepositioned on or near electronic or gas-powered equipment in the user'shome. If the user is notified that a particular piece of equipment hasbeen left on (e.g., the stove 530), the user may then send a command toturn off all electricity or gas in the home to prevent damage.Alternatively, the control logic 512 in the IoT hub 110 and/or the IoTservice 120 may be configured to automatically turn off electricity orgas in such situations.

In one embodiment, the IoT hub 110 and IoT service 120 communicate atperiodic intervals. If the IoT service 120 detects that the connectionto the IoT hub 110 has been lost (e.g., by failing to receive a requestor response from the IoT hub for a specified duration), it willcommunicate this information to the end user's device 135 (e.g., bysending a text message or app-specific notification).

Apparatus and Method for Communicating Data through an IntermediaryDevice

As mentioned above, because the wireless technologies used tointerconnect IoT devices such as Bluetooth LE are generally short rangetechnologies, if the hub for an IoT implementation is outside the rangeof an IoT device, the IoT device will not be able to transmit data tothe IoT hub (and vice versa).

To address this deficiency, one embodiment of the invention provides amechanism for an IoT device which is outside of the wireless range ofthe IoT hub to periodically connect with one or more mobile devices whenthe mobile devices are within range. Once connected, the IoT device cantransmit any data which needs to be provided to the IoT hub to themobile device which then forwards the data to the IoT hub.

As illustrated in FIG. 6 one embodiment includes an IoT hub 110, an IoTdevice 601 which is out of range of the IoT hub 110 and a mobile device611. The out of range IoT device 601 may include any form of IoT devicecapable of collecting and communicating data. For example, the IoTdevice 601 may comprise a data collection device configured within arefrigerator to monitor the food items available in the refrigerator,the users who consume the food items, and the current temperature. Ofcourse, the underlying principles of the invention are not limited toany particular type of IoT device. The techniques described herein maybe implemented using any type of IoT device including those used tocollect and transmit data for smart meters, stoves, washers, dryers,lighting systems, HVAC systems, and audiovisual equipment, to name justa few.

Moreover, the mobile device In operation, the IoT device 611 illustratedin FIG. 6 may be any form of mobile device capable of communicating andstoring data. For example, in one embodiment, the mobile device 611 is asmartphone with an app installed thereon to facilitate the techniquesdescribed herein. In another embodiment, the mobile device 611 comprisesa wearable device such as a communication token affixed to a neckless orbracelet, a smartwatch or a fitness device. The wearable token may beparticularly useful for elderly users or other users who do not own asmartphone device.

In operation, the out of range IoT device 601 may periodically orcontinually check for connectivity with a mobile device 611. Uponestablishing a connection (e.g., as the result of the user moving withinthe vicinity of the refrigerator) any collected data 605 on the IoTdevice 601 is automatically transmitted to a temporary data repository615 on the mobile device 611. In one embodiment, the IoT device 601 andmobile device 611 establish a local wireless communication channel usinga low power wireless standard such as BTLE. In such a case, the mobiledevice 611 may initially be paired with the IoT device 601 using knownpairing techniques.

One the data has been transferred to the temporary data repository, themobile device 611 will transmit the data once communication isestablished with the IoT hub 110 (e.g., when the user walks within therange of the IoT hub 110). The IoT hub may then store the data in acentral data repository 413 and/or send the data over the Internet toone or more services and/or other user devices. In one embodiment, themobile device 611 may use a different type of communication channel toprovide the data to the IoT hub 110 (potentially a higher powercommunication channel such as WiFi).

The out of range IoT device 601, the mobile device 611, and the IoT hubmay all be configured with program code and/or logic to implement thetechniques described herein. As illustrated in FIG. 7, for example, theIoT device 601 may be configured with intermediary connection logicand/or application, the mobile device 611 may be configured with anintermediary connection logic/application, and the IoT hub 110 may beconfigured with an intermediary connection logic/application 721 toperform the operations described herein. The intermediary connectionlogic/application on each device may be implemented in hardware,software, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, theintermediary connection logic/application 701 of the IoT device 601searches and establishes a connection with the intermediary connectionlogic/application 711 on the mobile device (which may be implemented asa device app) to transfer the data to the temporary data repository 615.The intermediary connection logic/application 701 on the mobile device611 then forwards the data to the intermediary connectionlogic/application on the IoT hub, which stores the data in the centraldata repository 413.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the intermediary connection logic/applications701, 711, 721, on each device may be configured based on the applicationat hand. For example, for a refrigerator, the connectionlogic/application 701 may only need to transmit a few packets on aperiodic basis. For other applications (e.g., temperature sensors), theconnection logic/application 701 may need to transmit more frequentupdates.

Rather than a mobile device 611, in one embodiment, the IoT device 601may be configured to establish a wireless connection with one or moreintermediary IoT devices, which are located within range of the IoT hub110. In this embodiment, any IoT devices 601 out of range of the IoT hubmay be linked to the hub by forming a “chain” using other IoT devices.

In addition, while only a single mobile device 611 is illustrated inFIGS. 6-7 for simplicity, in one embodiment, multiple such mobiledevices of different users may be configured to communicate with the IoTdevice 601. Moreover, the same techniques may be implemented formultiple other IoT devices, thereby forming an intermediary device datacollection system across the entire home.

Moreover, in one embodiment, the techniques described herein may be usedto collect various different types of pertinent data. For example, inone embodiment, each time the mobile device 611 connects with the IoTdevice 601, the identity of the user may be included with the collecteddata 605. In this manner, the IoT system may be used to track thebehavior of different users within the home. For example, if used withina refrigerator, the collected data 605 may then include the identify ofeach user who passes by fridge, each user who opens the fridge, and thespecific food items consumed by each user. Different types of data maybe collected from other types of IoT devices. Using this data the systemis able to determine, for example, which user washes clothes, which userwatches TV on a given day, the times at which each user goes to sleepand wakes up, etc. All of this crowd-sourced data may then be compiledwithin the data repository 413 of the IoT hub and/or forwarded to anexternal service or user.

Another beneficial application of the techniques described herein is formonitoring elderly users who may need assistance. For this application,the mobile device 611 may be a very small token worn by the elderly userto collect the information in different rooms of the user's home. Eachtime the user opens the refrigerator, for example, this data will beincluded with the collected data 605 and transferred to the IoT hub 110via the token. The IoT hub may then provide the data to one or moreexternal users (e.g., the children or other individuals who care for theelderly user). If data has not been collected for a specified period oftime (e.g., 12 hours), then this means that the elderly user has notbeen moving around the home and/or has not been opening therefrigerator. The IoT hub 110 or an external service connected to theIoT hub may then transmit an alert notification to these otherindividuals, informing them that they should check on the elderly user.In addition, the collected data 605 may include other pertinentinformation such as the food being consumed by the user and whether atrip to the grocery store is needed, whether and how frequently theelderly user is watching TV, the frequency with which the elderly userwashes clothes, etc.

In another implementation, the if there is a problem with an electronicdevice such as a washer, refrigerator, HVAC system, etc, the collecteddata may include an indication of a part that needs to be replaced. Insuch a case, a notification may be sent to a technician with a requestto fix the problem. The technician may then arrive at the home with theneeded replacement part.

A method in accordance with one embodiment of the invention isillustrated in FIG. 8. The method may be implemented within the contextof the architectures described above, but is not limited to anyparticular architecture.

At 801, an IoT device which is out of range of the IoT hub periodicallycollects data (e.g., opening of the refrigerator door, food items used,etc). At 802 the IoT device periodically or continually checks forconnectivity with a mobile device (e.g., using standard local wirelesstechniques for establishing a connection such as those specified by theBTLE standard). If the connection to the mobile device is established,determined at 802, then at 803, the collected data is transferred to themobile device at 803. At 804, the mobile device transfers the data tothe IoT hub, an external service and/or a user. As mentioned, the mobiledevice may transmit the data immediately if it is already connected(e.g., via a WiFi link).

In addition to collecting data from IoT devices, in one embodiment, thetechniques described herein may be used to update or otherwise providedata to IoT devices. One example is shown in FIG. 9A, which shows an IoThub 110 with program code updates 901 that need to be installed on anIoT device 601 (or a group of such IoT devices). The program codeupdates may include system updates, patches, configuration data and anyother data needed for the IoT device to operate as desired by the user.In one embodiment, the user may specify configuration options for theIoT device 601 via a mobile device or computer which are then stored onthe IoT hub 110 and provided to the IoT device using the techniquesdescribed herein. Specifically, in one embodiment, the intermediaryconnection logic/application 721 on the IoT hub 110 communicates withthe intermediary connection logic/application 711 on the mobile device611 to store the program code updates within a temporary storage 615.When the mobile device 611 enters the range of the IoT device 601, theintermediary connection logic/application 711 on the mobile device 611connects with the intermediary/connection logic/application 701 on theIoT device 601 to provide the program code updates to the device. In oneembodiment, the IoT device 601 may then enter into an automated updateprocess to install the new program code updates and/or data.

A method for updating an IoT device is shown in FIG. 9B. The method maybe implemented within the context of the system architectures describedabove, but is not limited to any particular system architectures.

At 900 new program code or data updates are made available on the IoThub and/or an external service (e.g., coupled to the mobile device overthe Internet). At 901, the mobile device receives and stores the programcode or data updates on behalf of the IoT device. The IoT device and/ormobile device periodically check to determine whether a connection hasbeen established at 902. If a connection is established, determined at903, then at 904 the updates are transferred to the IoT device andinstalled.

Embodiments for Improved Security

In one embodiment, the low power microcontroller 200 of each IoT device101 and the low power logic/microcontroller 301 of the IoT hub 110include a secure key store for storing encryption keys used by theembodiments described below (see, e.g., FIGS. 10-15 and associatedtext). Alternatively, the keys may be secured in a subscriber identifymodule (SIM) as discussed below.

FIG. 10 illustrates a high level architecture which uses public keyinfrastructure (PKI) techniques and/or symmetric key exchange/encryptiontechniques to encrypt communications between the IoT Service 120, theIoT hub 110 and the IoT devices 101-102.

Embodiments which use public/private key pairs will first be described,followed by embodiments which use symmetric key exchange/encryptiontechniques. In particular, in an embodiment which uses PKI, a uniquepublic/private key pair is associated with each IoT device 101-102, eachIoT hub 110 and the IoT service 120. In one embodiment, when a new IoThub 110 is set up, its public key is provided to the IoT service 120 andwhen a new IoT device 101 is set up, it's public key is provided to boththe IoT hub 110 and the IoT service 120. Various techniques for securelyexchanging the public keys between devices are described below. In oneembodiment, all public keys are signed by a master key known to all ofthe receiving devices (i.e., a form of certificate) so that anyreceiving device can verify the validity of the public keys byvalidating the signatures. Thus, these certificates would be exchangedrather than merely exchanging the raw public keys.

As illustrated, in one embodiment, each IoT device 101, 102 includes asecure key storage 1001, 1003, respectively, for security storing eachdevice's private key. Security logic 1002, 1304 then utilizes thesecurely stored private keys to perform the encryption/decryptionoperations described herein. Similarly, the IoT hub 110 includes asecure storage 1011 for storing the IoT hub private key and the publickeys of the IoT devices 101-102 and the IoT service 120; as well assecurity logic 1012 for using the keys to perform encryption/decryptionoperations. Finally, the IoT service 120 may include a secure storage1021 for security storing its own private key, the public keys ofvarious IoT devices and IoT hubs, and a security logic 1013 for usingthe keys to encrypt/decrypt communication with IoT hubs and devices. Inone embodiment, when the IoT hub 110 receives a public key certificatefrom an IoT device it can verify it (e.g., by validating the signatureusing the master key as described above), and then extract the publickey from within it and store that public key in it's secure key store1011.

By way of example, in one embodiment, when the IoT service 120 needs totransmit a command or data to an IoT device 101 (e.g., a command tounlock a door, a request to read a sensor, data to beprocessed/displayed by the IoT device, etc) the security logic 1013encrypts the data/command using the public key of the IoT device 101 togenerate an encrypted IoT device packet. In one embodiment, it thenencrypts the IoT device packet using the public key of the IoT hub 110to generate an IoT hub packet and transmits the IoT hub packet to theIoT hub 110. In one embodiment, the service 120 signs the encryptedmessage with it's private key or the master key mentioned above so thatthe device 101 can verify it is receiving an unaltered message from atrusted source. The device 101 may then validate the signature using thepublic key corresponding to the private key and/or the master key. Asmentioned above, symmetric key exchange/encryption techniques may beused instead of public/private key encryption. In these embodiments,rather than privately storing one key and providing a correspondingpublic key to other devices, the devices may each be provided with acopy of the same symmetric key to be used for encryption and to validatesignatures. One example of a symmetric key algorithm is the AdvancedEncryption Standard (AES), although the underlying principles of theinvention are not limited to any type of specific symmetric keys.

Using a symmetric key implementation, each device 101 enters into asecure key exchange protocol to exchange a symmetric key with the IoThub 110. A secure key provisioning protocol such as the DynamicSymmetric Key Provisioning Protocol (DSKPP) may be used to exchange thekeys over a secure communication channel (see, e.g., Request forComments (RFC) 6063). However, the underlying principles of theinvention are not limited to any particular key provisioning protocol.

Once the symmetric keys have been exchanged, they may be used by eachdevice 101 and the IoT hub 110 to encrypt communications. Similarly, theIoT hub 110 and IoT service 120 may perform a secure symmetric keyexchange and then use the exchanged symmetric keys to encryptcommunications. In one embodiment a new symmetric key is exchangedperiodically between the devices 101 and the hub 110 and between the hub110 and the IoT service 120. In one embodiment, a new symmetric key isexchanged with each new communication session between the devices 101,the hub 110, and the service 120 (e.g., a new key is generated andsecurely exchanged for each communication session). In one embodiment,if the security module 1012 in the IoT hub is trusted, the service 120could negotiate a session key with the hub security module 1312 and thenthe security module 1012 would negotiate a session key with each device120. Messages from the service 120 would then be decrypted and verifiedin the hub security module 1012 before being re-encrypted fortransmission to the device 101.

In one embodiment, to prevent a compromise on the hub security module1012 a one-time (permanent) installation key may be negotiated betweenthe device 101 and service 120 at installation time. When sending amessage to a device 101 the service 120 could first encrypt/MAC withthis device installation key, then encrypt/MAC that with the hub'ssession key. The hub 110 would then verify and extract the encrypteddevice blob and send that to the device.

In one embodiment of the invention, a counter mechanism is implementedto prevent replay attacks. For example, each successive communicationfrom the device 101 to the hub 110 (or vice versa) may be assigned acontinually increasing counter value. Both the hub 110 and device 101will track this value and verify that the value is correct in eachsuccessive communication between the devices. The same techniques may beimplemented between the hub 110 and the service 120. Using a counter inthis manner would make it more difficult to spoof the communicationbetween each of the devices (because the counter value would beincorrect). However, even without this a shared installation key betweenthe service and device would prevent network (hub) wide attacks to alldevices.

In one embodiment, when using public/private key encryption, the IoT hub110 uses its private key to decrypt the IoT hub packet and generate theencrypted IoT device packet, which it transmits to the associated IoTdevice 101. The IoT device 101 then uses its private key to decrypt theIoT device packet to generate the command/data originated from the IoTservice 120. It may then process the data and/or execute the command.Using symmetric encryption, each device would encrypt and decrypt withthe shared symmetric key. If either case, each transmitting device mayalso sign the message with it's private key so that the receiving devicecan verify it's authenticity.

A different set of keys may be used to encrypt communication from theIoT device 101 to the IoT hub 110 and to the IoT service 120. Forexample, using a public/private key arrangement, in one embodiment, thesecurity logic 1002 on the IoT device 101 uses the public key of the IoThub 110 to encrypt data packets sent to the IoT hub 110. The securitylogic 1012 on the IoT hub 110 may then decrypt the data packets usingthe IoT hub's private key. Similarly, the security logic 1002 on the IoTdevice 101 and/or the security logic 1012 on the IoT hub 110 may encryptdata packets sent to the IoT service 120 using the public key of the IoTservice 120 (which may then be decrypted by the security logic 1013 onthe IoT service 120 using the service's private key). Using symmetrickeys, the device 101 and hub 110 may share a symmetric key while the huband service 120 may share a different symmetric key.

While certain specific details are set forth above in the descriptionabove, it should be noted that the underlying principles of theinvention may be implemented using various different encryptiontechniques. For example, while some embodiments discussed above useasymmetric public/private key pairs, an alternate embodiment may usesymmetric keys securely exchanged between the various IoT devices101-102, IoT hubs 110, and the IoT service 120. Moreover, in someembodiments, the data/command itself is not encrypted, but a key is usedto generate a signature over the data/command (or other data structure).The recipient may then use its key to validate the signature.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, in one embodiment, the secure key storage oneach IoT device 101 is implemented using a programmable subscriberidentity module (SIM) 1101. In this embodiment, the IoT device 101 mayinitially be provided to the end user with an un-programmed SIM card1101 seated within a SIM interface 1100 on the IoT device 101. In orderto program the SIM with a set of one or more encryption keys, the usertakes the programmable SIM card 1101 out of the SIM interface 500 andinserts it into a SIM programming interface 1102 on the IoT hub 110.Programming logic 1125 on the IoT hub then securely programs the SIMcard 1101 to register/pair the IoT device 101 with the IoT hub 110 andIoT service 120. In one embodiment, a public/private key pair may berandomly generated by the programming logic 1125 and the public key ofthe pair may then be stored in the IoT hub's secure storage device 411while the private key may be stored within the programmable SIM 1101. Inaddition, the programming logic 525 may store the public keys of the IoThub 110, the IoT service 120, and/or any other IoT devices 101 on theSIM card 1401 (to be used by the security logic 1302 on the IoT device101 to encrypt outgoing data). Once the SIM 1101 is programmed, the newIoT device 101 may be provisioned with the IoT Service 120 using the SIMas a secure identifier (e.g., using existing techniques for registeringa device using a SIM). Following provisioning, both the IoT hub 110 andthe IoT service 120 will securely store a copy of the IoT device'spublic key to be used when encrypting communication with the IoT device101.

The techniques described above with respect to FIG. 11 provide enormousflexibility when providing new IoT devices to end users. Rather thanrequiring a user to directly register each SIM with a particular serviceprovider upon sale/purchase (as is currently done), the SIM may beprogrammed directly by the end user via the IoT hub 110 and the resultsof the programming may be securely communicated to the IoT service 120.Consequently, new IoT devices 101 may be sold to end users from onlineor local retailers and later securely provisioned with the IoT service120.

While the registration and encryption techniques are described abovewithin the specific context of a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module), theunderlying principles of the invention are not limited to a “SIM”device. Rather, the underlying principles of the invention may beimplemented using any type of device having secure storage for storing aset of encryption keys. Moreover, while the embodiments above include aremovable SIM device, in one embodiment, the SIM device is not removablebut the IoT device itself may be inserted within the programminginterface 1102 of the IoT hub 110.

In one embodiment, rather than requiring the user to program the SIM (orother device), the SIM is pre-programmed into the IoT device 101, priorto distribution to the end user. In this embodiment, when the user setsup the IoT device 101, various techniques described herein may be usedto securely exchange encryption keys between the IoT hub 110/IoT service120 and the new IoT device 101.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12A each IoT device 101 or SIM 401may be packaged with a barcode or QR code 1501 uniquely identifying theIoT device 101 and/or SIM 1001. In one embodiment, the barcode or QRcode 1201 comprises an encoded representation of the public key for theIoT device 101 or SIM 1001. Alternatively, the barcode or QR code 1201may be used by the IoT hub 110 and/or IoT service 120 to identify orgenerate the public key (e.g., used as a pointer to the public key whichis already stored in secure storage). The barcode or QR code 601 may beprinted on a separate card (as shown in FIG. 12A) or may be printeddirectly on the IoT device itself. Regardless of where the barcode isprinted, in one embodiment, the IoT hub 110 is equipped with a barcodereader 206 for reading the barcode and providing the resulting data tothe security logic 1012 on the IoT hub 110 and/or the security logic1013 on the IoT service 120. The security logic 1012 on the IoT hub 110may then store the public key for the IoT device within its secure keystorage 1011 and the security logic 1013 on the IoT service 120 maystore the public key within its secure storage 1021 (to be used forsubsequent encrypted communication).

In one embodiment, the data contained in the barcode or QR code 1201 mayalso be captured via a user device 135 (e.g., such as an iPhone orAndroid device) with an installed IoT app or browser-based appletdesigned by the IoT service provider. Once captured, the barcode datamay be securely communicated to the IoT service 120 over a secureconnection (e.g., such as a secure sockets layer (SSL) connection). Thebarcode data may also be provided from the client device 135 to the IoThub 110 over a secure local connection (e.g., over a local WiFi orBluetooth LE connection).

The security logic 1002 on the IoT device 101 and the security logic1012 on the IoT hub 110 may be implemented using hardware, software,firmware or any combination thereof. For example, in one embodiment, thesecurity logic 1002, 1012 is implemented within the chips used forestablishing the local communication channel 130 between the IoT device101 and the IoT hub 110 (e.g., the Bluetooth LE chip if the localchannel 130 is Bluetooth LE). Regardless of the specific location of thesecurity logic 1002, 1012, in one embodiment, the security logic 1002,1012 is designed to establish a secure execution environment forexecuting certain types of program code. This may be implemented, forexample, by using TrustZone technology (available on some ARMprocessors) and/or Trusted Execution Technology (designed by Intel). Ofcourse, the underlying principles of the invention are not limited toany particular type of secure execution technology.

In one embodiment, the barcode or QR code 1501 may be used to pair eachIoT device 101 with the IoT hub 110. For example, rather than using thestandard wireless pairing process currently used to pair Bluetooth LEdevices, a pairing code embedded within the barcode or QR code 1501 maybe provided to the IoT hub 110 to pair the IoT hub with thecorresponding IoT device.

FIG. 12B illustrates one embodiment in which the barcode reader 206 onthe IoT hub 110 captures the barcode/QR code 1201 associated with theIoT device 101. As mentioned, the barcode/QR code 1201 may be printeddirectly on the IoT device 101 or may be printed on a separate cardprovided with the IoT device 101. In either case, the barcode reader 206reads the pairing code from the barcode/QR code 1201 and provides thepairing code to the local communication module 1280. In one embodiment,the local communication module 1280 is a Bluetooth LE chip andassociated software, although the underlying principles of the inventionare not limited to any particular protocol standard. Once the pairingcode is received, it is stored in a secure storage containing pairingdata 1285 and the IoT device 101 and IoT hub 110 are automaticallypaired. Each time the IoT hub is paired with a new IoT device in thismanner, the pairing data for that pairing is stored within the securestorage 685. In one embodiment, once the local communication module 1280of the IoT hub 110 receives the pairing code, it may use the code as akey to encrypt communications over the local wireless channel with theIoT device 101.

Similarly, on the IoT device 101 side, the local communication module1590 stores pairing data within a local secure storage device 1595indicating the pairing with the IoT hub. The pairing data 1295 mayinclude the pre-programmed pairing code identified in the barcode/QRcode 1201. The pairing data 1295 may also include pairing data receivedfrom the local communication module 1280 on the IoT hub 110 required forestablishing a secure local communication channel (e.g., an additionalkey to encrypt communication with the IoT hub 110).

Thus, the barcode/QR code 1201 may be used to perform local pairing in afar more secure manner than current wireless pairing protocols becausethe pairing code is not transmitted over the air. In addition, in oneembodiment, the same barcode/QR code 1201 used for pairing may be usedto identify encryption keys to build a secure connection from the IoTdevice 101 to the IoT hub 110 and from the IoT hub 110 to the IoTservice 120.

A method for programming a SIM card in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention is illustrated in FIG. 13. The method may be implementedwithin the system architecture described above, but is not limited toany particular system architecture.

At 1301, a user receives a new IoT device with a blank SIM card and, at1602, the user inserts the blank SIM card into an IoT hub. At 1303, theuser programs the blank SIM card with a set of one or more encryptionkeys. For example, as mentioned above, in one embodiment, the IoT hubmay randomly generate a public/private key pair and store the privatekey on the SIM card and the public key in its local secure storage. Inaddition, at 1304, at least the public key is transmitted to the IoTservice so that it may be used to identify the IoT device and establishencrypted communication with the IoT device. As mentioned above, in oneembodiment, a programmable device other than a “SIM” card may be used toperform the same functions as the SIM card in the method shown in FIG.13.

A method for integrating a new IoT device into a network is illustratedin FIG. 14. The method may be implemented within the system architecturedescribed above, but is not limited to any particular systemarchitecture.

At 1401, a user receives a new IoT device to which an encryption key hasbeen pre-assigned. At 1402, the key is securely provided to the IoT hub.As mentioned above, in one embodiment, this involves reading a barcodeassociated with the IoT device to identify the public key of apublic/private key pair assigned to the device. The barcode may be readdirectly by the IoT hub or captured via a mobile device via an app orbowser. In an alternate embodiment, a secure communication channel suchas a Bluetooth LE channel, a near field communication (NFC) channel or asecure WiFi channel may be established between the IoT device and theIoT hub to exchange the key. Regardless of how the key is transmitted,once received, it is stored in the secure keystore of the IoT hubdevice. As mentioned above, various secure execution technologies may beused on the IoT hub to store and protect the key such as SecureEnclaves, Trusted Execution Technology (TXT), and/or Trustzone. Inaddition, at 803, the key is securely transmitted to the IoT servicewhich stores the key in its own secure keystore. It may then use the keyto encrypt communication with the IoT device. One again, the exchangemay be implemented using a certificate/signed key. Within the hub 110 itis particularly important to prevent modification/addition/ removal ofthe stored keys.

A method for securely communicating commands/data to an IoT device usingpublic/private keys is illustrated in FIG. 15. The method may beimplemented within the system architecture described above, but is notlimited to any particular system architecture.

At 1501, the IoT service encrypts the data/commands using the IoT devicepublic key to create an IoT device packet. It then encrypts the IoTdevice packet using IoT hub's public key to create the IoT hub packet(e.g., creating an IoT hub wrapper around the IoT device packet). At1502, the IoT service transmits the IoT hub packet to the IoT hub. At1503, the IoT hub decrypts the IoT hub packet using the IoT hub'sprivate key to generate the IoT device packet. At 1504 it then transmitsthe IoT device packet to the IoT device which, at 1505, decrypts the IoTdevice packet using the IoT device private key to generate thedata/commands. At 1506, the IoT device processes the data/commands.

In an embodiment which uses symmetric keys, a symmetric key exchange maybe negotiated between each of the devices (e.g., each device and the huband between the hub and the service). Once the key exchange is complete,each transmitting device encrypts and/or signs each transmission usingthe symmetric key before transmitting data to the receiving device.

Apparatus and Method for Establishing Secure Communication Channels inan Internet of things (IoT) System

In one embodiment of the invention, encryption and decryption of data isperformed between the IoT service 120 and each IoT device 101,regardless of the intermediate devices used to support the communicationchannel (e.g., such as the user's mobile device 611 and/or the IoT hub110). One embodiment which communicates via an IoT hub 110 isillustrated in FIG. 16A and another embodiment which does not require anIoT hub is illustrated in FIG. 16B.

Turning first to FIG. 16A, the IoT service 120 includes an encryptionengine 1660 which manages a set of “service session keys” 1650 and eachIoT device 101 includes an encryption engine 1661 which manages a set of“device session keys” 1651 for encrypting/decrypting communicationbetween the IoT device 101 and IoT service 120. The encryption enginesmay rely on different hardware modules when performing thesecurity/encryption techniques described herein including a hardwaresecurity module 1630-1631 for (among other things) generating a sessionpublic/private key pair and preventing access to the private session keyof the pair and a key stream generation module 1640-1641 for generatinga key stream using a derived secret. In one embodiment, the servicesession keys 1650 and the device session keys 1651 comprise relatedpublic/private key pairs. For example, in one embodiment, the devicesession keys 1651 on the IoT device 101 include a public key of the IoTservice 120 and a private key of the IoT device 101. As discussed indetail below, in one embodiment, to establish a secure communicationsession, the public/private session key pairs, 1650 and 1651, are usedby each encryption engine, 1660 and 1661, respectively, to generate thesame secret which is then used by the SKGMs 1640-1641 to generate a keystream to encrypt and decrypt communication between the IoT service 120and the IoT device 101. Additional details associated with generationand use of the secret in accordance with one embodiment of the inventionare provided below.

In FIG. 16A, once the secret has been generated using the keys1650-1651, the client will always send messages to the IoT device 101through the IoT service 120, as indicated by Clear transaction 1611.“Clear” as used herein is meant to indicate that the underlying messageis not encrypted using the encryption techniques described herein.However, as illustrated, in one embodiment, a secure sockets layer (SSL)channel or other secure channel (e.g., an Internet Protocol Security(IPSEC) channel) is established between the client device 611 and IoTservice 120 to protect the communication. The encryption engine 1660 onthe IoT service 120 then encrypts the message using the generated secretand transmits the encrypted message to the IoT hub 110 at 1602. Ratherthan using the secret to encrypt the message directly, in oneembodiment, the secret and a counter value are used to generate a keystream, which is used to encrypt each message packet. Details of thisembodiment are described below with respect to FIG. 17.

As illustrated, an SSL connection or other secure channel may beestablished between the IoT service 120 and the IoT hub 110. The IoT hub110 (which does not have the ability to decrypt the message in oneembodiment) transmits the encrypted message to the IoT device at 1603(e.g., over a Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) communication channel). Theencryption engine 1661 on the IoT device 101 may then decrypt themessage using the secret and process the message contents. In anembodiment which uses the secret to generate a key stream, theencryption engine 1661 may generate the key stream using the secret anda counter value and then use the key stream for decryption of themessage packet.

The message itself may comprise any form of communication between theIoT service 120 and IoT device 101. For example, the message maycomprise a command packet instructing the IoT device 101 to perform aparticular function such as taking a measurement and reporting theresult back to the client device 611 or may include configuration datato configure the operation of the IoT device 101.

If a response is required, the encryption engine 1661 on the IoT device101 uses the secret or a derived key stream to encrypt the response andtransmits the encrypted response to the IoT hub 110 at 1604, whichforwards the response to the IoT service 120 at 1605. The encryptionengine 1660 on the IoT service 120 then decrypts the response using thesecret or a derived key stream and transmits the decrypted response tothe client device 611 at 1606 (e.g., over the SSL or other securecommunication channel).

FIG. 16B illustrates an embodiment which does not require an IoT hub.Rather, in this embodiment, communication between the IoT device 101 andIoT service 120 occurs through the client device 611 (e.g., as in theembodiments described above with respect to FIGS. 6-9B). In thisembodiment, to transmit a message to the IoT device 101 the clientdevice 611 transmits an unencrypted version of the message to the IoTservice 120 at 1611. The encryption engine 1660 encrypts the messageusing the secret or the derived key stream and transmits the encryptedmessage back to the client device 611 at 1612. The client device 611then forwards the encrypted message to the IoT device 101 at 1613, andthe encryption engine 1661 decrypts the message using the secret or thederived key stream. The IoT device 101 may then process the message asdescribed herein. If a response is required, the encryption engine 1661encrypts the response using the secret and transmits the encryptedresponse to the client device 611 at 1614, which forwards the encryptedresponse to the IoT service 120 at 1615. The encryption engine 1660 thendecrypts the response and transmits the decrypted response to the clientdevice 611 at 1616.

FIG. 17 illustrates a key exchange and key stream generation which mayinitially be performed between the IoT service 120 and the IoT device101. In one embodiment, this key exchange may be performed each time theIoT service 120 and IoT device 101 establish a new communicationsession. Alternatively, the key exchange may be performed and theexchanged session keys may be used for a specified period of time (e.g.,a day, a week, etc). While no intermediate devices are shown in FIG. 17for simplicity, communication may occur through the IoT hub 110 and/orthe client device 611.

In one embodiment, the encryption engine 1660 of the IoT service 120sends a command to the HSM 1630 (e.g., which may be such as a CloudHSMoffered by Amazon®) to generate a session public/private key pair. TheHSM 1630 may subsequently prevent access to the private session key ofthe pair. Similarly, the encryption engine on the IoT device 101 maytransmit a command to the HSM 1631 (e.g., such as an Atecc 508 HSM fromAtmel Corporation®) which generates a session public/private key pairand prevents access to the session private key of the pair. Of course,the underlying principles of the invention are not limited to anyspecific type of encryption engine or manufacturer.

In one embodiment, the IoT service 120 transmits its session public keygenerated using the HSM 1630 to the IoT device 101 at 1701. The IoTdevice uses its HSM 1631 to generate its own session public/private keypair and, at 1702, transmits its public key of the pair to the IoTservice 120. In one embodiment, the encryption engines 1660-1661 use anElliptic curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH) protocol, which is an anonymous keyagreement that allows two parties with an elliptic curve public-privatekey pair, to establish a shared secret. In one embodiment, using thesetechniques, at 1703, the encryption engine 1660 of the IoT service 120generates the secret using the IoT device session public key and its ownsession private key. Similarly, at 1704, the encryption engine 1661 ofthe IoT device 101 independently generates the same secret using the IoTservice 120 session public key and its own session private key. Morespecifically, in one embodiment, the encryption engine 1660 on the IoTservice 120 generates the secret according to the formula secret=IoTdevice session pub key * IoT service session private key, where ‘*’means that the IoT device session public key is point-multiplied by theIoT service session private key. The encryption engine 1661 on the IoTdevice 101 generates the secret according to the formula secret=IoTservice session pub key * IoT device session private key, where the IoTservice session public key is point multiplied by the IoT device sessionprivate key. In the end, the IoT service 120 and IoT device 101 haveboth generated the same secret to be used to encrypt communication asdescribed below. In one embodiment, the encryption engines 1660-1661rely on a hardware module such as the KSGMs 1640-1641 respectively toperform the above operations for generating the secret.

Once the secret has been determined, it may be used by the encryptionengines 1660 and 1661 to encrypt and decrypt data directly.Alternatively, in one embodiment, the encryption engines 1660-1661 sendcommands to the KSGMs 1640-1641 to generate a new key stream using thesecret to encrypt/decrypt each data packet (i.e., a new key stream datastructure is generated for each packet). In particular, one embodimentof the key stream generation module 1640-1641 implements aGalois/Counter Mode (GCM) in which a counter value is incremented foreach data packet and is used in combination with the secret to generatethe key stream. Thus, to transmit a data packet to the IoT service 120,the encryption engine 1661 of the IoT device 101 uses the secret and thecurrent counter value to cause the KSGMs 1640-1641 to generate a new keystream and increment the counter value for generating the next keystream. The newly-generated key stream is then used to encrypt the datapacket prior to transmission to the IoT service 120. In one embodiment,the key stream is XORed with the data to generate the encrypted datapacket. In one embodiment, the IoT device 101 transmits the countervalue with the encrypted data packet to the IoT service 120. Theencryption engine 1660 on the IoT service then communicates with theKSGM 1640 which uses the received counter value and the secret togenerate the key stream (which should be the same key stream because thesame secret and counter value are used) and uses the generated keystream to decrypt the data packet.

In one embodiment, data packets transmitted from the IoT service 120 tothe IoT device 101 are encrypted in the same manner. Specifically, acounter is incremented for each data packet and used along with thesecret to generate a new key stream. The key stream is then used toencrypt the data (e.g., performing an XOR of the data and the keystream) and the encrypted data packet is transmitted with the countervalue to the IoT device 101. The encryption engine 1661 on the IoTdevice 101 then communicates with the KSGM 1641 which uses the countervalue and the secret to generate the same key stream which is used todecrypt the data packet. Thus, in this embodiment, the encryptionengines 1660-1661 use their own counter values to generate a key streamto encrypt data and use the counter values received with the encrypteddata packets to generate a key stream to decrypt the data.

In one embodiment, each encryption engine 1660-1661 keeps track of thelast counter value it received from the other and includes sequencinglogic to detect whether a counter value is received out of sequence orif the same counter value is received more than once. If a counter valueis received out of sequence, or if the same counter value is receivedmore than once, this may indicate that a replay attack is beingattempted. In response, the encryption engines 1660-1661 may disconnectfrom the communication channel and/or may generate a security alert.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary encrypted data packet employed in oneembodiment of the invention comprising a 4-byte counter value 1800, avariable-sized encrypted data field 1801, and a 6-byte tag 1802. In oneembodiment, the tag 1802 comprises a checksum value to validate thedecrypted data (once it has been decrypted).

As mentioned, in one embodiment, the session public/private key pairs1650-1651 exchanged between the IoT service 120 and IoT device 101 maybe generated periodically and/or in response to the initiation of eachnew communication session.

One embodiment of the invention implements additional techniques forauthenticating sessions between the IoT service 120 and IoT device 101.In particular, in one embodiment, hierarchy of public/private key pairsis used including a master key pair, a set of factory key pairs, and aset of IoT service key pairs, and a set of IoT device key pairs. In oneembodiment, the master key pair comprises a root of trust for all of theother key pairs and is maintained in a single, highly secure location(e.g., under the control of the organization implementing the IoTsystems described herein). The master private key may be used togenerate signatures over (and thereby authenticate) various other keypairs such as the factory key pairs. The signatures may then be verifiedusing the master public key. In one embodiment, each factory whichmanufactures IoT devices is assigned its own factory key pair which maythen be used to authenticate IoT service keys and IoT device keys. Forexample, in one embodiment, a factory private key is used to generate asignature over IoT service public keys and IoT device public keys. Thesesignature may then be verified using the corresponding factory publickey. Note that these IoT service/device public keys are not the same asthe “session” public/private keys described above with respect to FIGS.16A-B. The session public/private keys described above are temporary(i.e., generated for a service/device session) while the IoTservice/device key pairs are permanent (i.e., generated at the factory).

With the foregoing relationships between master keys, factory keys,service/device keys in mind, one embodiment of the invention performsthe following operations to provide additional layers of authenticationand security between the IoT service 120 and IoT device 101:

A. In one embodiment, the IoT service 120 initially generates a messagecontaining the following:

-   -   1. The IoT service's unique ID:        -   The IoT service's serial number;        -   a Timestamp;        -   The ID of the factory key used to sign this unique ID;        -   a Class of the unique ID (i.e., a service);        -   IoT service's public key        -   The signature over the unique ID.    -   2. The Factory Certificate including:        -   A timestamp        -   The ID of the master key used to sign the certificate        -   The factory public key        -   The signature of the Factory Certificate    -   3. IoT service session public key (as described above with        respect to FIGS. 16A-B)    -   4. IoT service session public key signature (e.g., signed with        the IoT service's private key)

B. In one embodiment, the message is sent to the IoT device on thenegotiation channel (described below). The IoT device parses the messageand:

-   -   1. Verifies the signature of the factory certificate (only if        present in the message payload)    -   2. Verifies the signature of the unique ID using the key        identified by the unique ID    -   3. Verifies the IoT service session public key signature using        the IoT service's public key from the unique ID    -   4. Saves the IoT service's public key as well as the IoT        service's session public key    -   5. Generates the IoT device session key pair

C. The IoT device then generates a message containing the following:

-   -   1. IoT device's unique ID        -   IoT device serial number        -   Timestamp        -   ID of factory key used to sign this unique ID        -   Class of unique ID (i.e., IoT device)        -   IoT device's public key        -   Signature of unique ID    -   2. IoT device's session public key    -   3. Signature of (IoT device session public key +IoT service        session public key) signed with IoT device's key

D. This message is sent back to the IoT service. The IoT service parsesthe message and:

-   -   1. Verifies the signature of the unique ID using the factory        public key    -   2. Verifies the signature of the session public keys using the        IoT device's public key    -   3. Saves the IoT device's session public key

E. The IoT service then generates a message containing a signature of(IoT device session public key +IoT service session public key) signedwith the IoT service's key.

F The IoT device parses the message and:

-   -   1. Verifies the signature of the session public keys using the        IoT service's public key    -   2. Generates the key stream from the IoT device session private        key and the IoT service's session public key    -   3. The IoT device then sends a “messaging available” message.

G. The IoT service then does the following:

-   -   1. Generates the key stream from the IoT service session private        key and the IoT device's session public key    -   2. Creates a new message on the messaging channel which contains        the following:        -   Generates and stores a random 2 byte value        -   Set attribute message with the boomerang attribute Id            (discussed below) and the random value

H. The IoT device receives the message and:

-   -   1. Attempts to decrypt the message    -   2. Emits an Update with the same value on the indicated        attribute Id

I. The IoT service recognizes the message payload contains a boomerangattribute update and:

-   -   1. Sets its paired state to true    -   2. Sends a pairing complete message on the negotiator channel

J. IoT device receives the message and sets his paired state to true

While the above techniques are described with respect to an “IoTservice” and an “IoT device,” the underlying principles of the inventionmay be implemented to establish a secure communication channel betweenany two devices including user client devices, servers, and Internetservices.

The above techniques are highly secure because the private keys arenever shared over the air (in contrast to current Bluetooth pairingtechniques in which a secret is transmitted from one party to theother). An attacker listening to the entire conversation will only havethe public keys, which are insufficient to generate the shared secret.These techniques also prevent a man-in-the-middle attack by exchangingsigned public keys. In addition, because GCM and separate counters areused on each device, any kind of “replay attack” (where a man in themiddle captures the data and sends it again) is prevented. Someembodiments also prevent replay attacks by using asymmetrical counters.

Techniques for Exchanging Data and Commands without Formally PairingDevices

GATT is an acronym for the Generic Attribute Profile, and it defines theway that two Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) devices transfer data back andforth. It makes use of a generic data protocol called the AttributeProtocol (ATT), which is used to store Services, Characteristics andrelated data in a simple lookup table using 16-bit Characteristic IDsfor each entry in the table. Note that while the “characteristics” aresometimes referred to as “attributes.”

On Bluetooth devices, the most commonly used characteristic is thedevices “name” (having characteristic ID 10752 (0×2A00)). For example, aBluetooth device may identify other Bluetooth devices within itsvicinity by reading the “Name” characteristic published by those otherBluetooth devices using GATT. Thus, Bluetooth device have the inherentability to exchange data without formally pairing/bonding the devices(note that “paring” and “bonding” are sometimes used interchangeably;the remainder of this discussion will use the term “pairing”).

One embodiment of the invention takes advantage of this capability tocommunicate with BTLE-enabled IoT devices without formally pairing withthese devices. Pairing with each individual IoT device would extremelyinefficient because of the amount of time required to pair with eachdevice and because only one paired connection may be established at atime.

FIG. 19 illustrates one particular embodiment in which a Bluetooth (BT)device 1910 establishes a network socket abstraction with a BTcommunication module 1901 of an IoT device 101 without formallyestablishing a paired BT connection. The BT device 1910 may be includedin an IoT hub 110 and/or a client device 611 such as shown in FIG. 16A.As illustrated, the BT communication module 1901 maintains a datastructure containing a list of characteristic IDs, names associated withthose characteristic IDs and values for those characteristic IDs. Thevalue for each characteristic may be stored within a 20-byte bufferidentified by the characteristic ID in accordance with the current BTstandard. However, the underlying principles of the invention are notlimited to any particular buffer size.

In the example in FIG. 19, the “Name” characteristic is a BT-definedcharacteristic which is assigned a specific value of “IoT Device 14.”One embodiment of the invention specifies a first set of additionalcharacteristics to be used for negotiating a secure communicationchannel with the BT device 1910 and a second set of additionalcharacteristics to be used for encrypted communication with the BTdevice 1910. In particular, a “negotiation write” characteristic,identified by characteristic ID <65532> in the illustrated example, maybe used to transmit outgoing negotiation messages and the “negotiationread” characteristic, identified by characteristic ID <65533> may beused to receive incoming negotiation messages. The “negotiationmessages” may include messages used by the BT device 1910 and the BTcommunication module 1901 to establish a secure communication channel asdescribed herein. By way of example, in FIG. 17, the IoT device 101 mayreceive the IoT service session public key 1701 via the “negotiationread” characteristic <65533>. The key 1701 may be transmitted from theIoT service 120 to a BTLE-enabled IoT hub 110 or client device 611 whichmay then use GATT to write the key 1701 to the negotiation read valuebuffer identified by characteristic ID <65533>. IoT device applicationlogic 1902 may then read the key 1701 from the value buffer identifiedby characteristic ID <65533> and process it as described above (e.g.,using it to generate a secret and using the secret to generate a keystream, etc).

If the key 1701 is greater than 20 bytes (the maximum buffer size insome current implementations), then it may be written in 20-byteportions. For example, the first 20 bytes may be written by the BTcommunication module 1903 to characteristic ID <65533> and read by theIoT device application logic 1902, which may then write anacknowledgement message to the negotiation write value buffer identifiedby characteristic ID <65532>. Using GATT, the BT communication module1903 may read this acknowledgement from characteristic ID <65532> andresponsively write the next 20 bytes of the key 1701 to the negotiationread value buffer identified by characteristic ID <65533>. In thismanner, a network socket abstraction defined by characteristic IDs<65532> and <65533> is established for exchanging negotiation messagesused to establish a secure communication channel.

In one embodiment, once the secure communication channel is established,a second network socket abstraction is established using characteristicID <65534> (for transmitting encrypted data packets from IoT device 101)and characteristic ID <65533> (for receiving encrypted data packets byIoT device). That is, when BT communication module 1903 has an encrypteddata packet to transmit (e.g., such as encrypted message 1603 in FIG.16A), it starts writing the encrypted data packet, 20 bytes at a time,using the message read value buffer identified by characteristic ID<65533>. The IoT device application logic 1902 will then read theencrypted data packet, 20 bytes at a time, from the read value buffer,sending acknowledgement messages to the BT communication module 1903 asneeded via the write value buffer identified by characteristic ID<65532>.

In one embodiment, the commands of GET, SET, and UPDATE described beloware used to exchange data and commands between the two BT communicationmodules 1901 and 1903. For example, the BT communication module 1903 maysend a packet identifying characteristic ID <65533> and containing theSET command to write into the value field/buffer identified bycharacteristic ID <65533> which may then be read by the IoT deviceapplication logic 1902. To retrieve data from the IoT device 101, the BTcommunication module 1903 may transmit a GET command directed to thevalue field/buffer identified by characteristic ID <65534>. In responseto the GET command, the BT communication module 1901 may transmit anUPDATE packet to the BT communication module 1903 containing the datafrom the value field/buffer identified by characteristic ID <65534>. Inaddition, UPDATE packets may be transmitted automatically, in responseto changes in a particular attribute on the IoT device 101. For example,if the IoT device is associated with a lighting system and the userturns on the lights, then an UPDATE packet may be sent to reflect thechange to the on/off attribute associated with the lighting application.

FIG. 20 illustrates exemplary packet formats used for GET, SET, andUPDATE in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In oneembodiment, these packets are transmitted over the message write <65534>and message read <65533> channels following negotiation. In the GETpacket 2001, a first 1-byte field includes a value (0×10) whichidentifies the packet as a GET packet. A second 1-byte field includes arequest ID, which uniquely identifies the current GET command (i.e.,identifies the current transaction with which the GET command isassociated). For example, each instance of a GET command transmittedfrom a service or device may be assigned a different request ID. Thismay be done, for example, by incrementing a counter and using thecounter value as the request ID. However, the underlying principles ofthe invention are not limited to any particular manner for setting therequest ID.

A 2-byte attribute ID identifies the application-specific attribute towhich the packet is directed. For example, if the GET command is beingsent to IoT device 101 illustrated in FIG. 19, the attribute ID may beused to identify the particular application-specific value beingrequested. Returning to the above example, the GET command may bedirected to an application-specific attribute ID such as power status ofa lighting system, which comprises a value identifying whether thelights are powered on or off (e.g., 1=on, 0=off). If the IoT device 101is a security apparatus associated with a door, then the value field mayidentify the current status of the door (e.g., 1=opened, 0=closed). Inresponse to the GET command, a response may be transmitting containingthe current value identified by the attribute ID.

The SET packet 2002 and UPDATE packet 2003 illustrated in FIG. 20 alsoinclude a first 1-byte field identifying the type of packet (i.e., SETand UPDATE), a second 1-byte field containing a request ID, and a 2-byteattribute ID field identifying an application-defined attribute. Inaddition, the SET packet includes a 2-byte length value identifying thelength of data contained in an n-byte value data field. The value datafield may include a command to be executed on the IoT device and/orconfiguration data to configure the operation of the IoT device in somemanner (e.g., to set a desired parameter, to power down the IoT device,etc). For example, if the IoT device 101 controls the speed of a fan,the value field may reflect the current fan speed.

The UPDATE packet 2003 may be transmitted to provide an update of theresults of the SET command. The UPDATE packet 2003 includes a 2-bytelength value field to identify the length of the n-byte value data fieldwhich may include data related to the results of the SET command. Inaddition, a 1-byte update state field may identify the current state ofthe variable being updated. For example, if the SET command attempted toturn off a light controlled by the IoT device, the update state fieldmay indicate whether the light was successfully turned off.

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary sequence of transactions between theIoT service 120 and an IoT device 101 involving the SET and UPDATEcommands. Intermediary devices such as the IoT hub and the user's mobiledevice are not shown to avoid obscuring the underlying principles of theinvention. At 2101, the SET command 2101 is transmitted form the IoTservice to the IoT device 101 and received by the BT communicationmodule 1901 which responsively updates the GATT value buffer identifiedby the characteristic ID at 2102. The SET command is read from the valuebuffer by the low power microcontroller (MCU) 200 at 2103 (or by programcode being executed on the low power MCU such as IoT device applicationlogic 1902 shown in FIG. 19). At 2104, the MCU 200 or program codeperforms an operation in response to the SET command. For example, theSET command may include an attribute ID specifying a new configurationparameter such as a new temperature or may include a state value such ason/off (to cause the IoT device to enter into an “on” or a low powerstate). Thus, at 2104, the new value is set in the IoT device and anUPDATE command is returned at 2105 and the actual value is updated in aGATT value field at 2106. In some cases, the actual value will be equalto the desired value. In other cases, the updated value may be different(i.e., because it may take time for the IoT device 101 to update certaintypes of values). Finally, at 2107, the UPDATE command is transmittedback to the IoT service 120 containing the actual value from the GATTvalue field.

FIG. 22 illustrates a method for implementing a secure communicationchannel between an IoT service and an IoT device in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention. The method may be implemented within thecontext of the network architectures described above but is not limitedto any specific architecture.

At 2201, the IoT service creates an encrypted channel to communicatewith the IoT hub using elliptic curve digital signature algorithm(ECDSA) certificates. At 2202, the IoT service encrypts data/commands inIoT device packets using the a session secret to create an encrypteddevice packet. As mentioned above, the session secret may beindependently generated by the IoT device and the IoT service. At 2203,the IoT service transmits the encrypted device packet to the IoT hubover the encrypted channel. At 2204, without decrypting, the IoT hubpasses the encrypted device packet to the IoT device. At 22-5, the IoTdevice uses the session secret to decrypt the encrypted device packet.As mentioned, in one embodiment this may be accomplished by using thesecret and a counter value (provided with the encrypted device packet)to generate a key stream and then using the key stream to decrypt thepacket. At 2206, the IoT device then extracts and processes the dataand/or commands contained within the device packet.

Thus, using the above techniques, bi-directional, secure network socketabstractions may be established between two BT-enabled devices withoutformally pairing the BT devices using standard pairing techniques. Whilethese techniques are described above with respect to an IoT device 101communicating with an IoT service 120, the underlying principles of theinvention may be implemented to negotiate and establish a securecommunication channel between any two BT-enabled devices.

FIGS. 23A-C illustrate a detailed method for pairing devices inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention. The method may beimplemented within the context of the system architectures describedabove, but is not limited to any specific system architectures.

At 2301, the IoT Service creates a packet containing serial number andpublic key of the IoT Service. At 2302, the IoT Service signs the packetusing the factory private key. At 2303, the IoT Service sends the packetover an encrypted channel to the IoT hub and at 2304 the IoT hubforwards the packet to IoT device over an unencrypted channel. At 2305,the IoT device verifies the signature of packet and, at 2306, the IoTdevice generates a packet containing the serial number and public key ofthe IoT Device. At 2307, the IoT device signs the packet using thefactory private key and at 2308, the IoT device sends the packet overthe unencrypted channel to the IoT hub.

At 2309, the IoT hub forwards the packet to the IoT service over anencrypted channel and at 2310, the IoT Service verifies the signature ofthe packet. At 2311, the IoT Service generates a session key pair, andat 2312 the IoT Service generates a packet containing the session publickey. The IoT Service then signs the packet with IoT Service private keyat 2313 and, at 2314, the IoT Service sends the packet to the IoT hubover the encrypted channel.

Turning to FIG. 23B, the IoT hub forwards the packet to the IoT deviceover the unencrypted channel at 2315 and, at 2316, the IoT deviceverifies the signature of packet. At 2317 the IoT device generatessession key pair (e.g., using the techniques described above), and, at2318, an IoT device packet is generated containing the IoT devicesession public key. At 2319, the IoT device signs the IoT device packetwith IoT device private key. At 2320, the IoT device sends the packet tothe IoT hub over the unencrypted channel and, at 2321, the IoT hubforwards the packet to the IoT service over an encrypted channel.

At 2322, the IoT service verifies the signature of the packet (e.g.,using the IoT device public key) and, at 2323, the IoT service uses theIoT service private key and the IoT device public key to generate thesession secret (as described in detail above). At 2324, the IoT deviceuses the IoT device private key and IoT service public key to generatethe session secret (again, as described above) and, at 2325, the IoTdevice generates a random number and encrypts it using the sessionsecret. At 2326, the IoT service sends the encrypted packet to IoT hubover the encrypted channel. At 2327, the IoT hub forwards the encryptedpacket to the IoT device over the unencrypted channel. At 2328, the IoTdevice decrypts the packet using the session secret.

Turning to FIG. 23C, the IoT device re-encrypts the packet using thesession secret at 2329 and, at 2330, the IoT device sends the encryptedpacket to the IoT hub over the unencrypted channel. At 2331, the IoT hubforwards the encrypted packet to the IoT service over the encryptedchannel. The IoT service decrypts the packet using the session secret at2332. At 2333 the IoT service verifies that the random number matchesthe random number it sent. The IoT service then sends a packetindicating that pairing is complete at 2334 and all subsequent messagesare encrypted using the session secret at 2335.

Embedded Internet of things (IoT) Hub, System, and Method

As mentioned above, adoption of IoT functionality in home appliances hasbeen limited for a variety of reasons including, for example, a lack ofwireless expertise, high certification costs (particularly when cellularis involved), and antenna size and requirements (which change based onthe wireless system each antenna supports). IoT ecosystems are evolvingwhich means there is a need for a flexible IoT implementation forappliances that can be upgraded when needed without changing theunderlying appliance.

One embodiment of the invention addresses these issues by providing amodular mechanical and electrical design for the IoT hub, allowing it tobe interfaced with various different types of appliances. In particular,in one embodiment, each appliance is equipped with a consistentinterface slot having predetermined mechanical and electricalspecifications which allows for the attachment of an embedded IoT unit(referred to herein as an “embedded IoT hub”). In addition, in oneembodiment, each embedded IoT hub includes a standardized mechanical andelectrical antenna interface to provide for the attachment of one ormore antenna module that also have a predefined mechanical/electricalinterface for attachment to the embedded IoT hub via the antennainterface.

In addition, in one embodiment, the embedded IoT hub is equipped with alocal wireless communication interface such as a Bluetooth Low Energy(BTLE) controller to automatically establish a local wirelesscommunication channel with a wireless communication device within theappliance. For example, when seated within the interface slot of theappliance, the BTLE controller within the embedded IoT hub automaticallyconnects to a BTLE controller within the appliance. The BTLE controllerwithin the appliance may itself be communicatively coupled to sensors orother IoT devices within the appliance. Thus, once the local wirelesscommunication channel is established within the appliance, the appliancemay provide data collected via its sensors and receive data and commandsfrom the embedded IoT hub.

Significantly, communication with the appliance may be established asdescribed above without re-certifying the appliance. Rather, once theappliance has been certified to establish a local wireless communicationchannel using BTLE (or other local wireless protocol), it does not needto be re-certified for use with the embedded IoT hub (which is certifiedseparately from the appliance). This is a significant improvement overexisting systems which require a separate, costly re-certification ofeach appliance (particularly when cellular is involved).

FIG. 24 illustrates a system architecture in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention in which an end user appliance 2420 isconfigured with a standardized IoT hub slot 2401 comprising standardizedelectrical and mechanical specifications (some examples of which are setforth below). Specifically, the hub slot 2403 is formed using spatialdimensions corresponding to the dimensions of the enclosure of the IoThub 2404 and also includes an embedded IoT hub interface 2413 forelectrically coupling to an appliance interface 2414 on the embedded IoThub 2404. In addition, one embodiment of the embedded IoT hub 2404includes an antenna interface 2415 to communicatively couple with an IoThub interface 2416 on a modular antenna 2405. As described in detailbelow, various different forms of modular antennas may be coupled to theantenna interface 2415 depending on the types of wireless technologiesto be used to connect the appliance to the Internet. In one embodiment,modular antennas 2405 may include antennas designed for any combinationof BTLE, WiFi, and Cellular communication (e.g., 4G/LTE, 5G, etc). Inaddition, the modular antennas 2405 may be equipped with otheraccessories such as subscriber identity module (SIM) cards required toconnect over various different wireless networks, security chips forperforming encryption and digital signatures, and barcode or QR codereaders for reading barcodes/QR codes as described herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 25, one exemplary embodiment of the IoT hub slot2403 is formed from a metal enclosure 2501 with the dimensions of 130mm×40 mm×70 mm. Of course, the underlying principles of the inventionare not limited to any particular set of dimensions. An exemplary IoThub interface 2413 is provided at the bottom of the slot and comprises aplurality of 10 mm×10 mm connection pads 2505, which interconnect withcorresponding connection pads on the IoT hub (see, e.g., 7×7 mmconnection pads 1501 described below with respect to FIG. 27). Inaddition, a set of latches 2502 are formed on top of the slot 2403 tolock down the IoT hub 2404 when inserted into the slot.

In the illustrated embodiment, 8 electrical connection pads 2505 areincluded including ground (GND) and power (PWR) pads which areelectrically coupled to the ground plane and the power supply,respectively, of the appliance. Some number of pads (four in theexample) are reserved for future electrical purposes. In an alternateembodiment, the pads may include a set of communication pads tocommunicatively couple the IoT hub to a wired communication channelwithin the appliance (e.g., Ethernet, USB, etc).

FIG. 26 illustrates additional details associated with integration ofthe hub slot 2403 within the appliance 2420. As mentioned, in oneembodiment, the ground plane(s) 2602 of the appliance 2420 are coupledto the GND pads and the power supply system 2601 is configured to supplya voltage to the PWR pads on the hub slot 2403. In addition, in anembodiment which includes a wired internal connection, an internalcommunication channel (not shown) may be coupled to communication padswithin the slot.

It should be noted that the slot 2403 illustrated in FIG. 26 and theother figures is not drawn to scale. In many implementations, the sizeof the slot will be significantly smaller relative to the appliance thanwhat is shown in these figures (particularly with respect to largerappliances such as refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc). In addition,while illustrated at the top of the appliance 2420, in the figures, thehub slot 2403 may be placed in various alternate positions in theappliance (e.g., on the back, on the side, etc).

As illustrated in FIG. 27, one embodiment of the embedded IoT hub 2404includes an enclosure designed to fit within the IoT slot 2403. In theparticular example shown in FIG. 27, the enclosure is formed fromdimensions of 120 mm×30 mm×60 mm, although the underlying principles ofthe invention are not limited to any particular set of dimensions. Anelectrical board 2710 such as a printed circuit board (PCB) may becoupled to the enclosure and may include a variety of differentcommunication chips electrically coupled thereon including a BTLE chipand one or more other radio chips (R1, R2, R3). Of course, in analternate embodiment, a single integrated circuit chip may be used whichsupports all of the communication protocols described herein. Asmentioned, the internal electrical design of the embedded hub can varybased on the target radios that need to be supported. In the illustratedembodiment, 7×7 mm electrical connection pads on the bottom of the IoThub 2404 match the defined locations of connection pads 2505 in the IoThub slot 2403.

Electrical wiring (or other conductive material) connects at least oneof the ground pads and one of the power pads of the hub connection pads2701 to supply power to the electrical board 2710. In addition, a groundwire and RF wire from the electrical board 2710 are coupled to theground and RF pads, respectively, of the antenna interface 2415.

In one embodiment, a circular antenna module enclosure 2701 formed atthe top of the embedded IoT hub 2404 has a 20mm diameter and 20mm depth.A set of latches 2705 are provided to latch the antenna module in placewhen inserted into the enclosure 2701. In addition, the antenna moduleenclosure 2701 includes two electrical connection pads 2415 (e.g., RFand GND) that are 4×4 mm (in one embodiment). As mentioned, in oneembodiment, the IoT hub 1204 will be certified as a stand-alone wirelessdevice and go through the required Federal Communications Commission(FCC) and carrier-related certifications prior to insertion into theappliance. For certification, the IoT hub 1204 may be paired withvarious different antenna modules (as described below).

The embedded IoT hub 1204 described herein may support a variety oftarget designs including (but not limited to), the following:

1. WiFi+BTLE hub for low cost connectivity design. Though the electricalboard inside the HUB will be smaller, the mechanical enclosure anddesign of the embedded hub should stay the same.

2. WiFi+Cellular+BTLE hub for high-end connectivity design that supportsWiFi and/or Cellular. Though the electrical board inside the IoT hubwill be smaller, the mechanical enclosure and design of the embedded hubshould stay the same.

3. Cellular+BTLE hub for mid-level connectivity design. Though theelectrical board inside the IoT hub will be smaller, the mechanicalenclosure and design of the embedded hub should stay the same.

4. Cellular+BTLE+Zigbee hub for home automation high end connectivitydesign.

5. WiFi+BTLE+Z-Wave hub for home automation high end connectivitydesign.

Different antenna modules may be integrated to the embedded IoT hub 1204to enable the above functionalities. Examples are described below withrespect to FIGS. 29-31.

As illustrated in FIG. 28, in one embodiment, a secure BTLE channel 2802is established between the BTLE radio/controller on the electrical board2710 and a BTLE radio/controller 2800 integrated within the appliance1220. The BTLE radio/controller 2800 may be configured to automaticallypair with the BTLE controller on the electrical board 2710 when theappliance is purchased by an end user along with an embedded IoT hub1204. Standard BTLE pairing techniques may also be employed. Once theconnection is established integrated IoT sensors and/or IoT devices 2810within the appliance may communicate through the embedded IoT hub overthe Internet.

FIG. 29A illustrates a high level system architecture which shows threeIoT enabled appliances 2901-2903 equipped with embedded IoT hubs2905-2907, respectively, which connect the appliances over the Internet2922 via one or more network access devices 2915 (e.g., cell towers,WiFi access points, etc). In an alternate embodiment shown in FIG. 29B,only one IoT-enabled appliance 2902 is equipped with an embedded IoT hub2956 which acts as a central point of connectivity for the otherIoT-enabled appliances, 2901 and 2903. For example, these otherappliances 2901, 2903 may include IoT devices 2955, 2957 with wirelessnetwork interfaces for establishing local wireless connections (e.g.,BTLE connections) with the IoT hub 2956. As in various embodimentsdiscussed above, the IoT hub 2956 provides these devices and variousother IoT devices (not shown) with connectivity over the Internet 2922.

The interaction between the various system components shown in FIGS.29A-B may occur as described above. For example, the IoT hubs 2905-2907(or a single IoT hub 2956 in FIG. 29B) establish a communication channelwith the IoT cloud service 2920 over the Internet 2922 to transmit andreceive data and receive commands directed to the various appliances2901-2903. In the illustrated embodiment, the IoT cloud service 2920includes an IoT device/hub database 2930 comprising database records foreach of the IoT hubs and IoT devices configured in the system. IoTdevice/hub management logic 1215 creates the database records for newIoT hubs/devices and updates the IoT hub/device records in response todata transmitted by each of the IoT hubs/devices.

The IoT device management logic 1215 may also implement the varioussecurity/encryption functions described above to add new devices to thesystem (e.g., using QR codes/barcodes) and use keys to encryptcommunications and/or generate digital signatures when communicatingwith the IoT-enabled appliances 2901-2903. In one embodiment, a user mayaccess information related to each of the IoT-enabled appliances2901-2903 and/or control the appliances via an app installed on a userdevice 2910 which may be a smartphone device such as an Android® deviceor iPhone®. In addition, the user may access and control the IoT-enabledappliances 2901-2903 via a browser or application installed on a desktopor laptop computer.

In one embodiment, control signals such as commands transmitted from theapp or application on the user device 2910 are passed to the IoT cloudservice 2920 over the Internet 2922, then forwarded from the IoT cloudservice to the IoT hubs 2905-2907 (or a single central hub 2956). TheIoT hubs may process the control signals and/of forward the controlsignals to one or more of the IoT devices and/or sensors within theIoT-enabled appliances 2901-2903. Of course, the underlying principlesof the invention are not limited to any particular manner in which theuser accesses/controls the various IoT hubs and devices. For example,the user may transmit a control signal to turn on/off a particularIoT-enabled appliance or to take current readings from a sensor withinthe IoT-enabled appliance.

The embedded IoT hub 1204 described herein may be used for a variety ofdifferent applications. As described above, the embedded IoT hubs2905-2907 may be used as the primary communication channel between theappliance and the IoT cloud service 2920, by connecting via cellularnetworks and/or the user's home WiFi network. In one embodiment, theembedded IoT hub may be configured to act as a WiFi extender,effectively extending the reach of the user's WiFi network. In theexample shown in FIG. 29A, for example, each embedded IoT hub 2905-2907may connect to a WiFi network access device 2915 and extend the WiFisignal to other WiFi devices in the user's home. In addition, in oneembodiment, each embedded IoT hub 2905-2907 may be used to establish adirect wireless connection channel between the IoT-enabled appliances2901-2903 and the user device 2910 with an IoT app installed thereon(i.e., to allow the user direct access via a BTLE channel, rather thancommunicating through the IoT cloud service 2920).

In one embodiment, each embedded IoT hub is considered an accessorywhich may be purchased as an add-on by the customer when the applianceis purchased. Alternatively, the embedded IoT hub may be added to theappliance by the original device manufacturer (ODM), the consumerelectronics company (CE), and/or the retailer.

FIGS. 30-32 illustrate exemplary modular antennas which may be coupledto different embedded IoT hubs in accordance with different embodimentsof the invention. These embodiments are all formed with a circular or“mushroom” shape to conserve space. In one embodiment, the antenna sizemay vary depending on variables such as antenna design topology,frequency bands supported, desired target performance, antenna material,the number of antennas, and the isolation requirements between theantennas. Of course, some of these variables will depend on the set ofwireless communication protocols to be supported by the antenna (e.g.,frequency bands and number of antennas). The mushroom design describedherein solves the size problem while maintaining a standard modulardesign.

FIG. 30 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an antenna module with alower cylindrical section 3011 comprising the ground pad 3001 and RF pad3002 and an upper cylindrical section 3010 containing the antennas3020-3021. As illustrated, connectors running through the lowercylindrical section 3011 electrically couple the pads 3001-3002 to theantenna material 3020-3021 in the upper section 3010. While two antennasare shown in FIG. 30, various different antennas may be used (dependingon the implementation).

In one exemplary embodiment, the lower cylindrical section 3011 of themodule has a 17 mm diameter with a depth of 25 mm (i.e., designed to fitwithin the antenna enclosure 2701 shown in FIG. 27). One embodiment ofthis section includes 4×4 electrical pads that are defined as ground(GND) 3001 and RF feed 3002. The upper section 3010 of the antennamodule is flexible and can be sized according to the antennarequirements (as indicated by X×Y mm).

FIG. 31 illustrates on particular embodiment in which the upper section3110 includes a WiFi antenna 3101, a cellular antenna 3102, and aBluetooth LE antenna 3103, each coupled to a GND pad 3001 and an RF pad3002. Note that while only two pads 3001-3002 are illustrated in FIG.31, more pads than illustrated may be used to provide connectivity forthe various different antennas 3101-3103. In this example, the cellularantenna 3102 may support LTE cellular frequency bands (13/4), the WiFiantenna 3101 may support WiFi 2.4 Ghz+5 Ghz frequency bands, and theBTLE antenna 3103 may support BT 2.4 Ghz frequency bands. In oneembodiment, isolation between the WiFi and Cellular antennas is at least−20 dB.

In addition, in one embodiment, the cellular antenna 3102 comprises aplanar inverted-F antenna structure or an inverted-F PCB (FPCB) antennastructure and the WiFi antenna 3101 and/or BTLE antenna 3101 comprisePCB Dipole antennas. In one embodiment, the WiFi and BTLE antennas maybe implemented as a single, integrated antenna. In one embodiment, theWiFi and BTLE antenna section may be implemented with an approximatesize of 33×12 mm and the cellular antenna section may be implementedwith an approximate size of 30×20 mm.

In one embodiment, isolation between the WiFi/BT and the cellularantennas is accomplished with a distance of 15 mm. The upper section3110 of the mushroom shape in the embodiment shown in FIG. 31 is 100×60mm while the lower section 3111 is 25 mm (length)×17 mm (diameter).

FIG. 32 illustrates another embodiment of the modular antenna whichincludes one WiFi antenna 3102 and one BTLE antenna 3105. In thisembodiment, the antenna module supports the WiFi 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz bandsand BTLE 2.4 Ghz bands. In one embodiment, the a PCB dipole antenna isused. Isolation between WiFi and BT antennas in this embodiment is 00dB. In one embodiment, the WiFi+BT dual band antenna section is 33×12mm. The upper section 3210 of the mushroom shape in the embodiment shownin FIG. 32 is 50×30 mm while the lower section 3211 is 25 mm (length)×17mm (diameter).

FIG. 33 illustrates an exemplary embodiment showing an embedded hub withan antenna module 3301 inserted into the slot in an end user's appliance1220. In one embodiment, the antenna module is inserted inside theembedded IoT hub's designated opening. In one embodiment, the design ofthe embedded IoT hub's opening and the antenna module will guarantee themushroom side of the antenna module (i.e., the upper section 3110) isalways positioned on top or on the side of the appliance, not enclosedand surrounded by metal (which would inhibit RF reception). In oneembodiment, the thickness of the mushroom section of the antenna modulewill guarantee a clearance between the antenna itself and the white goodmetal. The antenna module may be used when certifying the embedded IoThub (i.e., multiple different combinations of IoT hubs and antennamodules may be individually certified).

In one embodiment, appliance (e.g., “white good”) vendors may integratedthe IoT hub slot 1203 in appliances for a small additional cost (e.g.,$2.00). In one embodiment, the embedded IoT hub is designed as astand-alone IoT hub that follows the mechanical design roles of the IoThub slot 1203 and may include any wireless technologies chosen by theODM. As mentioned, the embedded IoT hub may be certified one time only,to reduce time and cost, and can be licensed to consumer electronics(CE) manufacturers as long as it follows slot mechanical design.

Embodiments of the invention may include various steps, which have beendescribed above. The steps may be embodied in machine-executableinstructions which may be used to cause a general-purpose orspecial-purpose processor to perform the steps. Alternatively, thesesteps may be performed by specific hardware components that containhardwired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination ofprogrammed computer components and custom hardware components.

As described herein, instructions may refer to specific configurationsof hardware such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)configured to perform certain operations or having a predeterminedfunctionality or software instructions stored in memory embodied in anon-transitory computer readable medium. Thus, the techniques shown inthe figures can be implemented using code and data stored and executedon one or more electronic devices (e.g., an end station, a networkelement, etc.). Such electronic devices store and communicate(internally and/or with other electronic devices over a network) codeand data using computer machine-readable media, such as non-transitorycomputer machine-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks; opticaldisks; random access memory; read only memory; flash memory devices;phase-change memory) and transitory computer machine-readablecommunication media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical or other formof propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals, etc.). In addition, such electronic devices typically include aset of one or more processors coupled to one or more other components,such as one or more storage devices (non-transitory machine-readablestorage media), user input/output devices (e.g., a keyboard, atouchscreen, and/or a display), and network connections. The coupling ofthe set of processors and other components is typically through one ormore busses and bridges (also termed as bus controllers). The storagedevice and signals carrying the network traffic respectively representone or more machine-readable storage media and machine-readablecommunication media. Thus, the storage device of a given electronicdevice typically stores code and/or data for execution on the set of oneor more processors of that electronic device. Of course, one or moreparts of an embodiment of the invention may be implemented usingdifferent combinations of software, firmware, and/or hardware.

Throughout this detailed description, for the purposes of explanation,numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, toone skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without someof these specific details. In certain instances, well known structuresand functions were not described in elaborate detail in order to avoidobscuring the subject matter of the present invention. Accordingly, thescope and spirit of the invention should be judged in terms of theclaims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: an embedded Internet ofThings (IoT) hub comprising a wide area network (WAN) interface tocouple the embedded IoT hub to an IoT service over a network and a localwireless communication interface to communicatively couple the IoT hubto one or more IoT devices; an IoT hub slot interface coupled to theembedded IoT hub and comprising a first plurality of pins or pads tointerface with corresponding pins or pads within an IoT hub slot of anappliance when the embedded IoT hub is inserted into the IoT hub slot;and a modular antenna interface coupled to the embedded IoT hub andcomprising a second plurality of pins or pads to interface withcorresponding pins or pads on the interface component of the modularantenna.
 2. The apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the first plurality ofpins or pads comprise at least one power pin or pad to electricallycouple the embedded IoT hub to a power system of the appliance.
 3. Theapparatus as in claim 2 wherein the first plurality of pins or padscomprise at least one ground pin or pad to electrically couple theembedded IoT hub to a ground plane of the appliance.
 4. The apparatus asin claim 1 wherein the local wireless communication interface comprisesa Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) interface to communicatively couple theembedded IoT hub to one or more IoT devices within the appliance overone or more BTLE communication channels.
 5. The apparatus as in claim 4wherein the one or more IoT devices within the appliance include sensorsto take readings and responsively communicate the readings to theembedded IoT hub over the BTLE communication channels.
 6. The apparatusas in claim 5 wherein the embedded IoT hub is configured to transmit thereadings over the WAN interface to the IoT service.
 7. The apparatus asin claim 6 wherein the IoT service is configured to communicate thereadings to a user device comprising an app or browser configured toconnect to the IoT service.
 8. The apparatus as in claim 1 furthercomprising: a set of latches affixed to the embedded IoT hub andconfigured to lock down the modular antenna when the modular antenna iscoupled to the embedded IoT hub.
 9. The apparatus as in claim 8 whereinthe embedded IoT device further comprises an antenna enclosure intowhich the embedded antenna is to be inserted to couple the embeddedantenna to the IoT hub.
 10. The apparatus as in claim 9 wherein theantenna enclosure comprises a cylindrical enclosure having a diameterbetween 15 mm and 25 mm and a length of between 15 mm and 25 mm.